Quick update:

Quick update:
I arrived at Uncle Johnny's Nolichucky hostel (http://www.unclejohnnys.net) in Erwin TN this morning after a 20 mile hike yesterday. Nice to have a hot shower and clean clothes again.

I took the hostel's midday shuttle into town, had an all-you-can-eat pizza buffet and resupplied at the grocery store. I'm already anticipating the 5pm shuttle, probably for a Mexican dinner, and a morning shuttle for breakfast before I leave.

Either a short 5 mile day tomorrow or a 17 mile day, depending on how early I start. I'm hoping for the latter. The highest shelter on the AT, Roan High Knob at nearly 6200 feet, is coming up soon, but its getting too cold for me to overnight there with my current gear. Also expecting rain (snow?) over the next few days.

Quick update:

Quick update:
I completed my hike through Great Smoky Mountains National Park and arrived at the Hostel at Laughing Heart Lodge (http://www.laughingheartlodge.com) in Hot Springs NC yesterday afternoon for a zero (rest day) today.

Through information from other southbound hikers, I found my friend Production in Hot Springs at the same hostel. We last saw each other in Dalton MA back in June, and had not shared contact info (now remedied). We spent much of last night and today catching up and exchanging information about the trail ahead, but he is continuing south and I north tomorrow morning. It's been a very nice stay, and plenty of excellent town food to keep me going!

05 October

05 October
From: Muskrat Creek shelter
To: Carter Gap shelter
Mileage: 12.7
Weather: Mild to warm, sunny

I started out at 8:30am after Wildcat left.

After a descent and climb, I stopped at Standing Indian shelter, which had a rattlesnake skin nailed to a front post, and pieces of the shelter Bible in the fire pit (like hotel Bibles, some group puts small Bibles in every shelter, but don't understand why anyone would disrespect it in this way).

It was a 1000 foot climb, hot in the sun, and through a burn area to the Standing Indian summit.

I stopped for the night at Carter Gap shelter. There wad a large Christian group camping. Wildcat was already setup hammocking. There was a southbound section hiker in the shelter with a friend tenting.

I successfully threw my bear bag line on the first try, but almost messed it up later when I realized I forgot to add John's snack bag from my pocket. I had to use a long branch to retrieve the carabinier that was out of my reach).

Another talkative northbound hiker joined us in the shelter, and there was a lot of conversation as Wildcat and others gathered in the shelter to eat during a rainshower.

04 October

04 October
From: Dick's Creek Gap
To: Muskrat Creek shelter
Mileage: 12.2
Weather: Mild to warm, sunny

I took another shower in the morning after preparing my pack and joined others for the All You Can Eat cereal breakfast in the main room of the hostel. I had several bowls of Cocoa Puffs and Cheerios, along with a lot of my apple juice.

John took an 8am shuttle to Blue Ridge Gap to hike to the NC border than back to the Plumorchard shelter in Georgia for the night. He then planned to get the hostel shuttle into Hiawassee before returning home to Massachusetts. Before leaving, he gave me a big ziplock bag of raisins, dried cranberries and pistachios that he did not need.

I prompted the hostel owner Sir-Packs-A-Lot to give his briefing on 10 rules for thruhikers, usually reserved for the inexperienced hikers heading north in the Spring. He also let me use the hostel computer to print the AT thruhiker permit required at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, still more than a week away.

I was given a short shuttle ride uphill to the trailhead. My pack was full, heavy with resupply and water, plus the snack bag from John.

I stopped at the Plumorchard shelter, which was downhill from the trail but had very nice piped stream water, a three level shelter, privy, and a bear box. I made a log entry and and had a lunch snack before leaving.

I met John/Second Chance returning from the NC border before I reached Blue Ridge Gap, and we exchanged well wishes.

It was a pleasant trail, with a slight climb to the NC border sign. Just beyond, I found a twisted old tree noted in AWOL's AT guide and chatted with a local hiker there.

I followed then passed her up a long, steep climb to the Couthouse Bald summit. It was relatively level to Muskrat Creek shelter after a couple of stream crossings. Now the trail stayed over 4000 feet elevation from the 3000s in Georgia.

I reached Muskrat Creek shelter and met Wildcat tenting. He is a local hiker doing a long segment to Hot Springs NC, north of the Smokies.

North Carolina did not provide cables or boxes for bear bags, so I had to work a bit to find a suitably high branch to throw my line over. Once done, I had dinner and hung my bag (PCT method). I also hung my pack in the shelter, hoping neither bears nor mice would visit.

03 October

03 October
From: Deep Gap shelter
To: Top of Georgia Hiker Center
Mileage: 4.6
Weather: Cool to mild, sunny and humid

I left the shelter before John, anxious to begin my Nero and catch a daily resupply shuttle into Hiawassee GA at the hostel.

Once I reached the busy two-lane road at Dick's Creek Gap, I followed the sign 0.7 miles downhill along the narrow shoulder to the hostel entrance.

The hostel is staffed by thruhikers, and Vagabond, a two time AT thruhiker (last when she was 70) got me signed in. I was happy to take a shower and exchange my clothes for hospital scrubs while mine got washed. I also availed myself of the free hot chocolate (3 cups, IIRC) when John arrived. Another couple of hikers arrived that I met at Neel Gap hostel, one a woman flip-flop thruhiker who was heading north like I was, joined by her boyfriend to their finish at McAfee Knob in Virginia (they are from Lynchburg VA). The boyfriend had an injury and they planned to take a day off.

I and the couple took the afternoon shuttle to town, where we had two hours before pickup. I went to an All You Can Eat buffet at Daniel's, which had Gone with the Wind posters and prayer reminders about, and had two rounds of heaping plates of southern comfort food with side dishes and dessert before I felt full. I then went to the nearby Dollar General store to resupply tuna packets, cookies, gummi bears, apple juice and lemonade drink mix before heading back to the pickup point at the Ingles grocery store. I noticed that the older grocery store next door had only a few customers, which was rather sad.

John and I shared the bunkhouse. The couple stayed in one of the tiny cabins on the property (same price per person).

I had a couple of cups of Neapolitan ice cream a previous guest left in the bunkhouse freezer before bed as my stomach found more room.

02 October

02 October
From: Blue Mountain shelter
To: Deep Gap shelter
Mileage: 16.2
Weather: Cool to mild, sunny

I was up at dawn (but after the women) to get an early start.

It was a long descent from Blue Mountain to Unicoi Gap, then a long climb up Rocky Mountain. On the way up, I passed Furnace and Milo coming south, who also warned me about the hornets. Milo had been stung. I recognized their names and their faces were familiar, and they recognized me, too. I believe we met at the Hikers Welcome hostel in Glencliff NH. I congratulated them on their nearly completed thruhike.

When I reached the campsite sign at the summit that the women told me about, I donned my fleece jacket and mosquito net jacket with hood, insulated buff head cover, gloves, zip-on legs for my convertible hiking pants, and a shot of DEET for good measure, then jogged quickly through the summit area without getting stung. I took the extra layers off on my way down, and passed the warning about the hornets to other southbound hikers I met.

The next peak to climb was Tray Mountain, the second highest peak in Georgia. I left an entry with the hornet warning in the log at the Tray Mountain shelter when I stopped for a snack.

I met "John from Massachusetts" (who I was told to expect by a couple of other hikers), trail name Second Chance, at Deep Gap shelter where I stopped. John, a very nice guy and recently retired police officer, was section hiking the AT in Georgia to the North Carolina border, which was 12.5 miles ahead. However, we both planned to stay at the Top of Georgia Hiker Center (and hostel, http://topofgeorgiahikingcenter.org) the next day, another Nero and resupply for me.

Although another man visited the shelter, apparently part of a group, he didn't return so it was just John and I at the shelter for the night. There was a bear box, and my food was in the Ursack, so I hoped it was safe from bears and rodents overnight.

01 October

01 October
From: Mountain Crossings hostel
To: Blue Mountain shelter
Mileage: 18.8
Weather: Cool to mild, cloudy to sunny

I didn't have a restful night at the Mountain Crossings hostel. It was a bit stuffy despite fans and dehumidifiers, but worse was the intermittent squeaks and scrambling sounds of rats in the paneling right beside my head. I realized my food bag was open on the floor and I hadn't opened the new rodent-resistant Ursack, yet, so I put the bag on the unoccupied top bunk and rolled it shut. I slept a little once I felt that the rats might stay on their side of the wall.

After eating a breakfast sandwich I bought the day before, I left around 8am. I almost visited a campsite that Beat Rap recommended for the view, but it wasn't close enough to the trail. I did stop at Low Gap shelter, which was down an access trail blocked by a couple fallen trees and not clearly blazed. I had a snack and made an entry in the log.

I nearly walked into a large spider web across the trail, complete with large spider in the middle. Unfortunately, I had to knock it down to get past.

Then I stepped right next to a 4 foot rattlesnake on the trail just before Poor Mountain. The snake moved its head when my foot went down and I saw it, did a very fast two-step down the trail before looking back and recognizing it was a rattler. Apparently the snake was as startled as I and did not have time to rattle a warning. I'm glad it showed restraint. I started paying more attention to the trail.

It was a nice gentle grade trail after Low Gap, following an old mountain road.

I passed and briefly chatted with the SoBo hiker and his parents that I met at Neel Gap as they headed for the Low Gap shelter for the night.

Just as I was getting tired, the trail became uneven and rocky for the last couple of miles to the Blue Mountain shelter. The shelter was very nice with a view on the ridge. Two women from the Raleigh NC area were already there on a section hike to Springer Mountain. They warned me about a hornets nest where they had been stung just past the summit of Rocky Mountain, the next peak north on the trail.

It was a cool night and very peaceful, despite a previous comment from Beat Rap that bears frequented the area.

30 September

30 September
From: Woods Hole shelter
To: Mountain Crossings hostel
Mileage: 3.5
Weather: Cool to mild, cloudy to sunny

Overnight we were entertained by two bats flying in and getting cozy on the ceiling above Scott. We heard the flapping wings in the shelter and our headlamps came on. We also had intermittent rain overnight.

Beat Rap was up and out well before dawn. The rest of us slept in. Overnight I decided to stay at the hostel at Neel Gap, eat, and shop at the outfitter there. I hate taking a nero after only a couple of days on trail, but its the least stressful option. Barry and Scott left their car near Neel Gap, and will be returning to Tallahassee.

We left together, and let Scott set the pace. It didn't take us long to summit Blood Mountain, and we visited the stone shelter there. We checked out a few viewpoints at the summit (mostly clouded in) and started down Neel Gap. I heard about a rock scramble on the way down, but it was trivial compared to Maine.

We passed many day hikers climbing the mountain.

As we neared the bottom, Barry and Scott took a side trail to the parking area; I stayed on the AT, which was nearly flat and sandy at that point.

I crossed the busy two lane road to the outfitter, and saw lots of bicycle racers gathered at support tents in the parking area. There were lots of water cooler bottles, which explains the same staged at Woody Gap the day before.

I went in and got my bunk in the hostel, dropped off my gear, and returned to the outfitter in time to see Barry and Scott find a parking spot in front. We got food (a perfectly baked Red Baron supreme pizza and cherry Coke for me) and shopped. I picked up an Ursack to protect my food. Barry and Scott were so eager to shower before the six hour drive home that they each paid the $20 hostel bunkroom fee for the privilege.

The race team had cleared out, and Barry and Scott started home. I spent the rest of the afternoon wandering the grounds and updating these notes.

Four other hikers, three section hikers and another NoBo wraparound who recently completed Maine, are also staying in the hostel tonight.

I'm sitting outside the outfitter enjoying the pleasant weather. I still can't get a phone signal, so the outfitter tells me the chance of rain is only 10-20% for the next few days.

I chatted with an 80 year old gentleman and his daughter. He thru hiked the AT when he was 54 and again with a friend at 56. He is here today as a birthday wish.

I met a couple staying at cabins down the road who are going to meet their son who started southbound from Maine in June and will begin his post-college job in November. They are joining him southbound from Unicoi Gap for an overnight at Low Gap shelter, so I will probably cross paths with them. They also brought my attention to the hiking boots hanging from the trees here.

I drank a few sodas today and refilled water from the spigot to get rehydrated. I will "camel up" with more water when I start tomorrow.

I want to get an early start tomorrow. The next hostel stop, Top of Georgia, is a few days away and I'm looking forward to it already.

BTW, one of the outfitter employees just brought leftover pizza for me, courtesy of the owners. Trail magic!

29 September

29 September
From: Gooch Mountain shelter
To: Woods Hole shelter
Mileage: 11.9
Weather: Cool to warm, sunny and humid

I left while the others were having breakfast so I could take advantage of the morning cool.

Lots of small climbs and descents. I stopped at Woody Gap to eat some snacks for lunch. The area had a large parking area, but even so was overflowing with people circling for parking, given it was a pleasant Saturday. I disposed of my trash in the bins provided, always a welcome amenity. There were lots of full water cooler bottles in the parking area, but no dispenser. I didn't want to carry extra water up Big Cedar Mountain anyway, since there were springs further ahead.

More ups and downs, and I was tired and ready to stop when I reached the sign for Woods Hole shelter. It was a relatively flat 0.4 mile walk to the shelter. I heard someone playing spoons to music as I approached the shelter, and it turned out to be Beat Rap, a hiker from Atlanta who frequently hikes this section of the AT.

Barry and Scott arrived a short time later. Beat Rap had mice attack his bear bag stored in a seemingly well-sealed bear box, which gave me a dilemma. All of us ended using the bear bag cables that night instead of the box. Barry uses a Kevlar Ursack, better protection than a bear bag, and lighter but not as secure as a bear canister. I will investigate the options when I get to the Mountain Crossings outfitter at Neel Gap tomorrow.

I'm also lower than I'd like on water. The springs here are only trickles if that. I have about a liter, which should be enough to reach Neel Gap.

Beat Rap also noted that the Whitley Gap shelter that I wanted to reach tomorrow was a long way off trail (1.2 miles) and down a steep slope. The next shelter, Low Gap, is 15 miles and a few significant climbs away. He did tell me about some good campsites along the way, not in the guide.

It was just the four of us at the shelter. Beat Rap slept on the picnic table under the roof as he planned to leave early.

28 September

28 September
From: Springer Mountain shelter
To: Gooch Mountain shelter
Mileage: 15.5
Weather: Cool to warm, sunny and humid

Got a fairly late start after 8am, since sunrise is now after 7:30am. I left an entry in the shelter register with a shout out to Production, Glider and Seabiscuit if they should stop here as they hike south.

I also checked the register and left a passing thru entry at Stover Creek shelter 2.6 miles further north.

A couple of section hikers from Tallahassee overtook me at the Hickory Flats Cemetery intersection. Barry is an experienced hiker who is taking Scott out on for three days on his first backpacking trip, from Springer to Neel Gap. We swapped places a few times and all took lunch at Hawk Mountain shelter. I found an entry on 03 September from my old friend Wildfire, whom I last saw at Hikers Welcome hostel in New Hampshire. He was finishing his thru hike after flip-flopping southbound from Virginia. He must have been moving quickly!

I left the guys behind at the shelter and went over Sassafras Mountain, then had a chat with the trail maintainer at Cooper Gap just finishing work on water bars at Justus Mountain. He reported a black bear in a tree nearby, but I did not see it if it was still in the area.

I made it to Gooch Mountain shelter a short while before Barry and Scott, long enough to get water from the nearby piped spring and start washing up. There were several others hammocking nearby, but we had the shelter to ourselves. Again, happy to see a bear box installed at all of the shelters. There are cables to hang bear bags, too, but the bears have apparently figured out how to shake the bags loose so the boxes are replacing them.

I hoped to make Blood Mountain shelter tomorrow, but Barry noted it was an original shelter (1934) and had lots of mice. He was planning to stop at the newer Woods Hole shelter a mile before Blood Mountain, so I am considering that.