Journal Entries

Leaving camp at Indian Grave Gap.

Day 35 - Erwin, TN to Indian Grave Gap

9.8 miles

A beautiful hiking day. Clear sky and warm, early summer temperatures.

Spent the morning in town doing our town stuff, grocery shopping and laundry. Repacked it all and got back on the trail at 2:30. Nice hike out of Erwin, pleasant late afternoon hiking.

Got to camp at 6:30.

Today didn't seem like a crazy, stressful resupply, maybe it's becoming more routine and we're getting more efficient in our town stops.

I just needed something new in my hiking wardrobe. Something that doesn't take up much space, and isn't too heavy. Bought the girls and I "popcorn" shirts for 2 bucks a piece at Walgreens.

Getting a ride back to the trail in Miss Janet's van.

Day 34 - Whistling Gap campsite to Erwin, TN

12.9 miles

I got up at 5:30 this morning. It's my attempt to find more time in my day for writing and photography work, as per @toesalad suggestion. I'd like to aim for 5am but started here.

We were out of camp by 7:45 and into Erwin by 3:45.

We were by ourselves the whole day didn't see any other thru-hikers. It was a lovely day for hiking with great views of the Nolichucky river as we hiked down into Erwin.

Earlier in the day @toesalad got ahold of Miss Janet, who picked us up at the trailhead on River Road in Erwin.

She kindly offered us a place to stay tonight at her daughter's house, a former hiker hostel. I feel kinda funky and out of place, like I'm a homeless college kid.

We did some online work today, ordered a new compact computer for the trail. We thought we could get by with iPads but the work we have to do in each town stop and the writing I want to do on the trail is proving too onerous and slow-going without a better tool.

We planned our hiking and resupply days until Damascus, VA. Hard to believe in less than two weeks we'll be in Virginia.

Waiting for a ride into town.

The first rhododendrons we've seen in bloom.

Padawan with one of our favorite pieces of trail gear, earbuds. Before we started this hike I couldn't have imagined wanting to lose myself in anything but the sounds of nature. But when the sounds of nature become the backdrop to life, day-in and day-out , and the woods are no longer a refuge but "life" and a place of long stretches of boredom, like days at work in normal life, well then music and audiobooks are a life-saver.

Looking down on the Nolichucky River.