Curtains on Act I – Post #6

In one of my previous posts, I wrote about the tradition of trail names.  Why do you think these folks received their trail names: Miss AT, Jet, Beehive, Lefty, Tablesaw?

Resupplies

My first resupply was at Neels Gap, 39 miles from the start of my hike at Amicalola Falls.  The AT goes across the porch of Mountain Crossings Outfitters and hostel, where I spent a couple of hours eating lunch and purchasing food for three more days.  It seemed that at any given time there were 10-20 hikers there and the store does a booming business, considering that they are located in the middle of nowhere.  By this point, hikers realize the importance of having a light pack and some are now willing to invest more money to make that happen.

For my second resupply, another hiker and I got a ride into Hiawasee, GA, for an overnight motel stay, and opportunities to enjoy restaurant dining.  Even though the motel was in desperate need of some TLC, it sure was nice to enjoy using a flush toilet and taking a long, hot shower. I spent a quiet evening reading and writing while most of the hikers spent the evening at the local brewery.  A quiet early morning diner breakfast preceded the morning shuttle ride back to the trail head.

By the time I reached Franklin, NC, for the next resupply, restaurant dining was a thing of the past, due to new mandates on closing eateries.  I could still get a motel room but I had to get used to walking up to the drive through at the fast food places and ordering take out from the Mexican restaurant.

Resupply #4 found me at the Nantahala Outdoor Center, which has a small store with very limited food supplies. But I found enough to keep me hiking for another 4 days.  It was here that I spent several hours working on the logistics of leaving Graham county, NC, before they closed the highways to non-residents and arranged for a shuttle to take us to the northeast border of GSMNP.

While Hot Springs, NC, is a hiker friendly village, apparently law enforcement didn’t want us to loiter or spend the night in town.  The proprietor of an inn bent the rules and let three of us stay for the night. The local diner was glad to serve us take out and let us eat on their porch.

When Beehive, Jet, and I were in Hot Springs, the temperature was in the low 80s.  We knew those warm temperatures couldn’t last, so as we departed town, we were prepared for a 25 degree drop in temperature.  But I forgot that April Fool’s Day was coming up and the good Lord had other ideas. We spent most of April 1 and 2 hiking and camping in snow.  Thru hikers have enough gear to survive some winter weather but not enough to be comfortable. Trying to break camp in the morning is the worst- putting on frozen  socks and shoes, and packing away ice covered rain flies all contribute to numbing our fingers. Once again I was grateful to a trail angel for the kindness shown to a couple of shivering strangers with fresh fruit, a cup of hot chocolate, a cream filled oatmeal cookie, and a warm-up break inside her RV.

Oh, the sight that greeted us as the clouds broke up- the same moment Jet and I exited the woods onto the summit of Big Bald Mountain (5,200 ft), which has hundreds of acres of what looked like snow covered pasture land.  The intense sunlight reflecting off the snow made our squinting eyes look like mere slits, the northwest wind forced us to keep our hoods up and hands in our pockets, while our trekking poles dangled from our wrists. We could see some other thru hikers ascending an open slope a half mile away while cross country ski tracks lay at our feet.  I was glad to see that some local was out seizing the opportunity. Of course the photos I took don’t do the scene justice. Throughout the rest of the day, it felt like we were in Narnia as the White Witch’s spell was breaking and winter was coming to an abrupt end.

Shortly after this, we learned from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy that in addition to the trail being closed in the national parks, it was now also being closed in the national forests.  While I saw a couple of notices posted at road crossings, I didn’t see anyone enforcing the mandate. Many hikers feel that they are safer and are less likely to spread COVID-19 while on the trail than at home.  And, many don’t have a home to go to, because they gave up their apartment to do this hike. So, many have chosen to continue their hike until barred from doing so.  

Even though I think there may be a more effective way of preventing the spread of COVID-19 on our nation’s national scenic trails, I have chosen to comply with the decisions that have been made and am pausing my thru hike.  So part one of my hike came to a close in Erwin, TN. I may choose to continue hiking later this month in a state where the trail is still open, or I may choose to make this a SOBO hike, restarting in Maine this coming June.

I face two big challenges here at home.  The first one is to maintain my physical condition.  When I left the trail, I was at the point where my daily mileage had increased to 14-16 miles per day.  I need to walk a lot to maintain that level of fitness, and the snow and ice still covering the Adirondack hiking trails needs to go away.  Also, right before I left the trail, and now that I am home, I noticed an increase in my appetite, the beginning of what is known as trail hunger.  I don’t want to re-gain the weight that I lost so I may have to reduce the amount of potato chips that I’ve been eating since returning home.

I will let you know when and where I get back on the trail.

Answers to trail name questions:

   Miss AT is from Fort Wayne, IN, and was in a beauty pageant 2 days before she started her thru hike.

  Beehive is from Richmond, VA, is recently retired from Comcast and is also a beekeeper.

  Jet is from Colorado Springs and recently retired from the Air Force.

  Lefty has only one arm, which is, you guessed it, his left arm.

  Tablesaw is a carpenter that is frequently accused of sawing wood when sleeping.  You may know him as Ken.