Appalachian Trail Section hiking: Zero Sick Day

May 22, 2013
0 miles

Upon waking this morning, we did feel a little better. We went to Roan Mountain for breakfast at Bob’s Dairyland. Then we rode around investigating the towns around us. We drove down the road one way to Elk Park, then down the road the other way through Roan Mountain and on to Elizabethton. We found a Walmart there where we bought a few things to resupply our packs. Then we ventured to the Longhorn Steakhouse for lunch because we were beginning to feel like we could eat and a steak sounded really good. Luckily, we kept it down.

As the day progressed we decided that we would try hiking tomorrow. But instead of going south to Carver’s Gap and risking the Roan Mountain highlands, we will go north to Walnut Mountain Road and come south back to the hostel which is a shorter distance and seems to be much easier. If we can do that, then we will continue with our regular schedule the following day.

This evening we met two traveling nurses who were close to finishing up a thru-hike, going south. They had started their thru-hike in the fall and were interrupted by Hurricane Sandy. They would still be able to meet their goal of completing the trail within a year. They had given their dog the trail name “Bear” cause he did kinda look like one.

Beatnik from New Jersey was finishing up his hike even sooner; he had been working on it for 27 years in sections. When he got to Damascus in a few days he will have done the entire trail. Yay for him! He started cleaning out his pack of things that he would no longer need and gave Wait-up a pair of his sock liners. We have never used sock liners but he told us they made a world of difference in the comfort of your feet and helping not get blisters, which found out later was true. Thanks, Beatnik!

Another couple of ladies we met, Cheryl and Shenna, were hiking for a cause; raising money to stamp out bullying. They also had their little 11 month old doggie with them. She was doing fine as a trail dog.

After we were all finished with our night meals and about to settle in for the night, the door opened and Harry came in. We had met Harry earlier on the trail going into Erwin. He is an 87-year-old German. He said he had hiked 18 miles today and was expecting to get a bed in the hostel and a good meal. They had told him at the house that they were out of beds, and he could come to the hostel to make some food. He was really disappointed and looked so defeated. He said he needed food; any food that he could get, and a beer. We tried to explain to him how he could take what he needed from the store in the hostel and pay for it tomorrow; but he didn’t understand English as well as he could speak it. Wait-up fixed a can of our beef vegetable soup and crackers for him. He also offered him a bagel from a bag that Beatnik had donated to the kitchen. He ate like he was famished. Another hiker looked in the fridge and found a beer that someone had left in there. Harry really enjoyed that beer. He said it would make him sleep better. He was not looking forward to going out in the rain to set up his tent. We would have offered him our bed, but we had been sick and didn’t want to risk him getting it.