Day 42: Clyde Smith Shelter to OverMountain Shelter

14.7 miles + .3 to shelter

Started later than I wanted to - 8:30 - but figured I would be ok for the 15 mile day. One of the guys who slept in the shelter last night puked this morning. Hope that if he had the hiker virus he did not pass it along in the night.

Pretty hard day today - lots of climbing on rocks at first (which leads to excellent views); then Roan Mountain; then 3 balds and the shelter.

Saw two trail maintainers painting white blazes on trees. Such an important task! They were super friendly and glad to be out on such a pretty day.

The guide said after summitting Roan Mountain to be careful not to miss the AT turn off the (very rocky) fire road. I was really nervous that I was going to miss it. At one point I saw a rock that had blazes on it, and what looked like a trail leading down. But there were several trees piled up on the trail, and I thought it might have been an old marker. Kept going, and saw the "real" turnoff about half a mile later.

Scared the crap out of a older guy near the Carver Gap parking lot. I'm not sure what he was doing, but he must have thought he was out there all alone. When I showed up he was visibly shaken and said I scared him. (!?) I wasn't really scared - his family was in a truck in the parking lot and they looked normal - but it was a little weird and I was very glad to see Otto & DumpTruck pull up. (They are slackpacking CleverGirl & crew while DumpTruck recovers from dislocating his shoulder). It was just nice to have people I know close by.

About a mile before the shelter, a deer crossed the trail in front of me. Pretty neat!

The shelter is pretty cool - it is an old barn renovated into a 20 person shelter. OWL is here; so are Whole Bean, UV, Rusty, and Toast. We are sleeping in the hay loft!

Day 41: Beauty Spot Tentsite to Clyde Smith Shelter

14.2 miles
Another long day. Hiked with OWL until lunch, then the rest of the day by myself. Pretty nice views today, and lots of water. I've been drinking a lot more water and am actually having to plan so I don't run out of water too far from a water source.

Somehow the NYTimes app on my phone operates without data service, so I got a notification about the Boston bombing when I took my phone out of airplane mode. This is what it must have felt like years ago before the instant information age; I knew something big had happened but there was no way to get more information about it - no 24 hr news channel available - no internet community with which to talk about the crisis - no nightly news to watch - just the knowledge that something big had happened but there was nothing I could do about it except keep on hiking.

I was very relieved to find out none of my runner friends were hurt, and I really hope this one incident does not change the sport they love.

Had 4 people in a 10 person shelter. Very luxurious!

Day 40: Erwin -> Beauty Spot Tentsite

12.2 miles on trail + 1.2 mile walk from hotel to trail

Took our sweet time getting ready to leave town - we were hoping to meet Old Goat's wife when she arrived to pick him up but she hadn't arrived by hotel checkout time...so off we went.

We saw three deer in the woods right outside of Erwin - pretty neat to see wildlife. The trail crossed a railroad track, and then went uphill out of Erwin. We stopped at the first shelter outside Erwin to have a snack - saw Whole Bean & UV & their dog Mazey - then kept going. We made excellent time but a storm started blowing in. By the time we got to Beauty Spot (a bald overlooking Erwin), the storm was here. We set up camp at a campsite near the road - there was a nice water source, and other people were there also so it felt pretty safe. Once again I was able to get my tent set up before the storm hit - I've been really lucky so far. Cooked dinner in my vestibule (the small space created when the rain fly of the tent is staked out) - and went to bed.

A really great day - hiked on and off with OWL all day.

Day 39: Spivey Gap to Erwin TN

9.7 miles

Miss Janet slackpacked me and a couple guys back up the mountain, for the trek into town.

Quote of the day: Worry is like a rocking chair. You can do it a lot but you're never going to get anywhere.

It is a beautiful day today. OWL had trouble with a leaking platypus, so she got a ride down the mountain to the outfitter. A group of women section hikers started up the trail just before I did. I caught them pretty easy and enjoyed talking with them for the first part of the day. They are from Charlotte, NC and are out on a beginners backpacking adventure, led by sweetpea.

SweetPea and I walked together for quite a while, talking about hiking and hammocking and the AT. She has section hiked over 600 miles of the AT - up into Virginia - and leads hikes 2-3 times a month. It was really interesting to get the perspective of a section hiker - she said "you thru hikers get to do what section hikers *wish* they could do!" - that was a nice perspective.

Ate lunch by a stream. Then hiked a few miles more and meditated for the first time all trip. It felt great to take the time out of the day to center myself.

Called my parents and talked with them for a while on the downhill into Erwin. They are so excited to hear from me, and I love talking with them. Dad is still building his plane. Mom is working working working, disappointment one week and joy the next.

I remember how that feels.

Saw Dragonfly and Onyx - he got sick for 2 days and so they were slackpacking the difference. Good to see them but sorry he had trouble.

The views today were nice. I had a very nice relaxing hike. It was a great reaffirmation that I am doing what I need to be doing.

Old Goat is leaving the trail. He got the hiker virus and thinks he may also have a concussion from some of his falls in the Smokies. (He is falling a lot, even sitting down). Thinks he lost too much weight too fast. His wife is driving from Florida to get him tomorrow. I am sad to see him go - he has been a great encouragement to me and I honestly don't think I could have made it through the first day of the Smokies (up from Fontana) when my ankle was hurting so much without his encouragement.

I talked with OWL about my body wanting to slow down and enjoy the hike, and I think she gets it. She wants to stick together, and so do I. So we'll see how that works out. It is really strange, we have thrown ourselves into this very intimate relationship - almost like being sisters - where before we were just friends. We are having to learn how to communicate with one another - it has it's own learning curve but I think we are getting there.