Hostel Hoping – Days 121 thru 125

I just realized that hopping is spelled incorrectly in the title. Anyone want to be my editor?

Day 121 – Hogback Mountain Shelter to Erwin TN / Uncle Johnny’s 

I fell asleep within minutes of putting my phone away last night, probably around 6:30. Meriwether poked me at 7:45, three more hikers showed up. We were sleeping on one side of the shelter but our stuff was spread out all over the other side.

I got up and started making room and conversation. The hikers were from Winston Salem, close to us in Roanoke. They had “inserted at Spivey Gap and established camp 1 mile south” the previous night. Meriwether and I found the language interesting. It was raining pretty hard and these guys were in no hurry to get in the shelter.

They asked where we started. I am pretty sure they did not believe we had walked 22 miles. Eventually they said it was still light out, they would press on. They actually set up camp right behind the shelter. Were we too sketchy for them?

Or, perhaps they knew about the mouse that would drop down on my face at 2 this morning. That will really wake one up. Scared me to death. I say mouse, but the thing was pretty big, if I said rat, Meriwether would never stay in a shelter again.

It sprinkled and tree rained on us all morning. The damp coolness actually felt good. We had a lot of climbing early in the day. There would have been some great views except for the fog / cloud that surrounded the mountain.

We were making really good time, especially with so little to photograph. Before we got to our intended shelter, we discussed pushing on to Uncle Johnny’s in Erwin, our destination for tomorrow. It was only an extra 6 miles.

When we got to the shelter there was a woman our age already there. We chatted about the weather, how long we are out for, direction of travel, etc. She is doing a SoBo flip flop very similar to our NoBo flip flop for many of the same reasons.

As we were becoming fast friends, we learned that we all started life in the same place, Martinsville. She actually graduated from high school and was friends with Meriwether’s younger brother. Small world.

We ran from the shelter to Uncle Johnny’s, stopping only twice to take photos.

While waiting for the pizza to show up I started looking at what is coming up. We are getting very close to Virginia, probably only one resupply between here and Damascus. Tomorrow I will likely purchase the last fuel canister for this adventure.

Mentally, however, it seems like we have so far to go. We have been wet since getting to Georgia, the only time we get dry is in a hostel. I am tired of being wet and dirty. After tomorrow, only 3 more weeks. I can do anything for 3 weeks.

Day 122 – Erwin TN / Uncle Johnny’s to Cherry Gap Shelter

We were up later last night than we have been in months. I looked at my watch before turning off the light and it was 9:05 PM. We got to Uncle Johnny’s pretty late in the afternoon and it took awhile to get everything done.

We actually got to sleep in this morning too. The grocery store doesn’t open until 7, so we didn’t get up until 6. We could have slept later, the shuttle would not go until 8:30.

The grocery store in Erwin has pretty good resupply options. They have the good Ramen, reasonably priced bars, a good selection of oatmeal. They did not have any individually packaged Spam slices. I think this was our least expensive per day resupply.

We hit the trail at 9:30, also a record late. Rain is in the forecast with thunder storms in the afternoon. We want to get to the shelter about 17 miles North, so we will probably get soaked.

There were some sprinkles and one shower, we never got wetter than we would have if it was 80+ degrees out. I was very happy about that. I would rather not get damp at all, today was a comfortable damp.

The trail was beautiful today. A bald, no views due to clouds, but bunches of very ripe blackberries. Tomorrow I will probably drop a bear deuce.

After the bald we entered an evergreen forest. So many shades of green. The sun was trying to peek through. Magical. Meriwether always hopes to spot a unicorn or elf in forests like this.

Meriwether, in the distance, looking for a unicorn.

Even with the late start, we managed to get to the shelter before 5. There is a great water source very close to the shelter, I fetched water while Meriwether swept the mouse droppings off our sleeping platform.

There are no privies at the shelters between Erwin and Damascus. After dinner I did a bit of reconnaissance for potential cat hole options. I like the ground pretty flat with either a log to sit on or a tree to hold onto. I have never had to use a cat hole in the rain, but I have a plan to keep all my TP from getting wet. We’ll keep you posted.

Currently I am thankful for beautiful hiking days like today, also for dry socks.

Day 123 – Cherry Gap Shelter to Roan High Knob Shelter

Only two mouse visits last night. One was burrowing around in my clothes next to me, ran away as soon as I stirred. The other was trying to shimmy down the cord to my pack but was foiled by the aluminum can blocking the way.

It was not raining this morning and my cat hole experience was almost pleasant. The reconnaissance done yesterday evening paid off.

The sun teased us a few times during the hike today. Mostly the sky was grey. The forest was beautiful green and brown. It sprinkled rain a few times. Everything is damp.

Yesterday we saw Volcano, who we met on our second day in Georgia. We were surprised to see her, she is slack packing, but should be days behind us. We saw her again today and may see her tomorrow too. It looks like she is hiking in a southernly direction but moving North. She is raising money for skin cancer research / treatment.

As we neared the shelter we started seeing more people, trail runners, bird watchers, day hikers. At the shelter we met Skunk, a deaf flip flopper we heard about a few days ago.

Currently we are shelter / hostel hopping. There are severe thunderstorms forecast every afternoon and we would like to have some sort of solid roof. We got to the shelter shortly after 1 PM, felt great, but the next shelter doesn’t have water and FarOut comments indicate it is worthless in the rain.

Tomorrow we will be going to the Refuge Hostel near Roan Mountain, TN. It will be a bit longer day, mileage, but not by much. This afternoon I looked at potential stops between here and Damascus, we are going to have a few very short days and some very long days, but no good shelters. Tennessee needs to step up her game. I am very much looking forward to being back in Virginia.

Day 124 – Roan High Knob Shelter to Roan Mountain / The Refuge Hostel 

Apparently the mice had fun with the people upstairs last night. They left us alone. Skunk, the deaf guy, Meriwether, and I were in bed and asleep by 6:30. Around 8 we heard a young couple talking outside. This shelter actually has 4 walls and a door. I got up, opened the door, and invited them in. They got the second floor, and the mice.

We were up early as usual, no need to be quiet, the guy next to us is deaf. It was very cool last night and I slept great.

After climbing down off the mountain we started walking through the balds. Round, Jane, Little Hump, and Big Hump. It has been foggy all morning, but as we climbed up the first bald the sun rise was amazing. It was amazing for a good hour of hiking. These are the moments that make a 4 AM wake up time worth it.

4 AM wake up time reward

Once again the forecast was horrible but we only got sprinkled on for an hour or so. Part of me wishes we had kept hiking past the hostel to the next shelter. Our food bags were not empty, not full enough to make it to Damascus either.

The Refuge Hostel is nice. Very clean, comfortable, and simple. April’s son greeted us and showed us around. There is good resupply here, lacking only oatmeal and bars. Town resupply is not great.

I worked on our itinerary for the rest of the trip. Typically I like to have 3 to 5 days planned and some sort of idea where the next resupply will be. Today I listed shelters for all but our last night on the trail. Our next resupply will be in Damascus, I’m not sure of any after that.

Seeing the end was nice. And sad. I am so ready to be done. I am having a really good time. The emotional rollercoaster is wild and will likely get a bit wilder.

Day 125 – Roan Mountain / The Refuge Hostel to Dennis Cove Road / Black Bear Resort 

Last night April promised no rain today. It wasn’t raining when we set out. About an hour into the hike the sprinkles started. In all honesty, the light rain we have had issues much better than sweltering heat. And we have been super lucky with when it has rained and our proximity to shelter.

I didn’t think we would see anyone today. A few hours into the hike, a group was approaching us. “Hikers”, the man in front said to alert the rest of the group. Then he looked right at me and said “Mack.” I asked how do you know my name. Meriwether said “Soda Bread!”

We had met most of this same group when they were section hiking a part of the trail South of Waynesboro back in March. We leap frogged each other for a few days. Now they are down here doing the same thing. They are taking a zero tomorrow, so we probably won’t see them again.

Soda Bread was disappointed that we did not call him when we were in New York. One should always accept offers of help on the trail.

The sun only came out briefly today. I commented that I could see my shadow and it disappeared again. The sky was dark, the green tunnel was dark, the views were hidden by clouds. We still had a good day. Quiet contemplation. Some discussion. Where will we live when this adventure is done. We put our home on the market a couple days ago. Trying to keep life interesting.

Potential new home. Needs some work, but the location is great.

This evening we spent some time discussing trying to get to Damascus in two days vs three. Two would set us up for better camp sites during the last two weeks and would likely get us home a day early. Three would have us sharing a shelter with Ratzilla, per the FarOut comments.