Hiking southbound from Damascus, VA to Erwin, TN
Day 158
We were on the road by 9am to make the 3 hour drive to Damascus from Greensboro. With a pitstop at Burger king, we were in Damascus, ready to hike by 12:30. We took pictures, and said bye to my mother and were back at it again.
9.9 miles to Abingdon Gap Shelter. It really jumped up on us, we made it here in 4 hours. The high today was around 40 degrees, I guess you cant hike in the Tennessee mountains in late October and expect warm weather. It is Cold! We came prepared.
3 miles in from Damascus we officially crossed the border into Tennessee. Here we go!
We were on the road by 9am to make the 3 hour drive to Damascus from Greensboro. With a pitstop at Burger king, we were in Damascus, ready to hike by 12:30. We took pictures, and said bye to my mother and were back at it again.
9.9 miles to Abingdon Gap Shelter. It really jumped up on us, we made it here in 4 hours. The high today was around 40 degrees, I guess you cant hike in the Tennessee mountains in late October and expect warm weather. It is Cold! We came prepared.
3 miles in from Damascus we officially crossed the border into Tennessee. Here we go!
Day 159
Today was great! A little cold getting started, the first half of the day was spent in a cold sheet of fog. It eventually got up to around 50 degrees and cleared up, it turned out to be very nice. We were slow getting out of the tent this morning. Cathrine hasnt been feeling well (having stopped hiking for a few days I think our bodies let their guard down a little bit and we were a little more prone to sickness). Also I think we just need to get on our usual schedule.
On the trail by 8:30 to hike 15.9 miles. Because the weather turned out to be so nice along with the smoothness of the trail (we are hiking much faster than usual, going about 3mph) we decided to hike 3 miles past the planned shelter to a campsite to make it a 18.9 mile day. We were done at 5pm.
I made a nice fire and we ate dinner. Cathrines mom sent us with some Mountain House dinner, theyre delicious. Definitely nice to switch things up. Someone had also left a Backpackers Pantry cheese cake at one of the shelters, we hopped on it right away. The second freeze dried dessert we've come across on this trip, they are awesome!
Apparently we;re in an area with alot of bear activity. There were warning signs to not camp in this 30 mile stretch of trail. Having had such little warning, it would be impossible for us not to. We heard about this stretch when we hiked Virginia in May. Word on the street is that the bears have learned to climb on each others shoulders to get the hiker's food off the food hangers. I have our food hung high in the trees, let hope they dont figure that one out.
16.1 miles planned tomorrow.
Today was great! A little cold getting started, the first half of the day was spent in a cold sheet of fog. It eventually got up to around 50 degrees and cleared up, it turned out to be very nice. We were slow getting out of the tent this morning. Cathrine hasnt been feeling well (having stopped hiking for a few days I think our bodies let their guard down a little bit and we were a little more prone to sickness). Also I think we just need to get on our usual schedule.
On the trail by 8:30 to hike 15.9 miles. Because the weather turned out to be so nice along with the smoothness of the trail (we are hiking much faster than usual, going about 3mph) we decided to hike 3 miles past the planned shelter to a campsite to make it a 18.9 mile day. We were done at 5pm.
I made a nice fire and we ate dinner. Cathrines mom sent us with some Mountain House dinner, theyre delicious. Definitely nice to switch things up. Someone had also left a Backpackers Pantry cheese cake at one of the shelters, we hopped on it right away. The second freeze dried dessert we've come across on this trip, they are awesome!
Apparently we;re in an area with alot of bear activity. There were warning signs to not camp in this 30 mile stretch of trail. Having had such little warning, it would be impossible for us not to. We heard about this stretch when we hiked Virginia in May. Word on the street is that the bears have learned to climb on each others shoulders to get the hiker's food off the food hangers. I have our food hung high in the trees, let hope they dont figure that one out.
16.1 miles planned tomorrow.
Day 160
16.1 miles hiked today. We started off with some great views of the foggy valleys below us. The rest of the day was spent hiking around the shores of Lake Watauga.
We've been meeting alot of people telling us congrats on coming so far and being so close to Springer. We know we still have a ways to go but its very encouraging. Much more encouraging than when we were up north, hiking south, everyones first reaction to us was "isnt it a little late in the season to be thru hiking?"
We're at Pond Flats Campsite, I love the lesser used camping spot there is so much firewood! We're camping along again, enjoying it while it lasts. Word is theres a big bubble of other sobos about a day behind us. We saw lots of day hikers and weekenders today, our way of knowing what day of the week it is.
16.1 miles hiked today. We started off with some great views of the foggy valleys below us. The rest of the day was spent hiking around the shores of Lake Watauga.
We've been meeting alot of people telling us congrats on coming so far and being so close to Springer. We know we still have a ways to go but its very encouraging. Much more encouraging than when we were up north, hiking south, everyones first reaction to us was "isnt it a little late in the season to be thru hiking?"
We're at Pond Flats Campsite, I love the lesser used camping spot there is so much firewood! We're camping along again, enjoying it while it lasts. Word is theres a big bubble of other sobos about a day behind us. We saw lots of day hikers and weekenders today, our way of knowing what day of the week it is.
Day 161
Cathrine has been hurting from trying to break in her new heavy duty, thick leather hiking boots. Her ankles have swollen and bruised and the pain has risen to her knees. It was bad today. 15 minutes into hiking I offered to switch boots with her. Even though theyre 3 sizes too small for me, I wore her boots for the rest of the day.
Thankfully we ended up only hiking 5 miles for the day when we made it to Dennis Cove Rd. Our original plan was to walk the .3 down the road to the hostel to get a resupply on food and hike on another 10 miles.
We didnt get 30 yards down the road before we heard someone calling to us. It was a woman asking us if we were hungry. Without hesitating, Cathrine yelled back "YES!". And Jennifer invited us in for hotdogs.
Inside we had lunch with Jennifer and Jake, and their 2 kids Leila and Reese and their dog Ranger. They are down for the weekend hanging out at one of their friends' cabin. Theyre very laid back and hospitable.
Jennifer offered to drive us into town for a resupply which saved us alot of trouble. Jake and Jennifer also offered up the extra room in the cabin to us to stay in if we wanted. As much as we like to make progress on the trail, Cathrine needed to rest her legs. We do our best to keep our eyes open to signs to do certain things, I think this sign couldnt have been more obvious that we needed to take an easy day.
Thank you Jake and Jennifer for being so kind!
Jake made dinner and we all hung out for the rest of the evening. Back at it again tomorrow. We hope Cathrine's knee will feel better.
Cathrine has been hurting from trying to break in her new heavy duty, thick leather hiking boots. Her ankles have swollen and bruised and the pain has risen to her knees. It was bad today. 15 minutes into hiking I offered to switch boots with her. Even though theyre 3 sizes too small for me, I wore her boots for the rest of the day.
Thankfully we ended up only hiking 5 miles for the day when we made it to Dennis Cove Rd. Our original plan was to walk the .3 down the road to the hostel to get a resupply on food and hike on another 10 miles.
We didnt get 30 yards down the road before we heard someone calling to us. It was a woman asking us if we were hungry. Without hesitating, Cathrine yelled back "YES!". And Jennifer invited us in for hotdogs.
Inside we had lunch with Jennifer and Jake, and their 2 kids Leila and Reese and their dog Ranger. They are down for the weekend hanging out at one of their friends' cabin. Theyre very laid back and hospitable.
Jennifer offered to drive us into town for a resupply which saved us alot of trouble. Jake and Jennifer also offered up the extra room in the cabin to us to stay in if we wanted. As much as we like to make progress on the trail, Cathrine needed to rest her legs. We do our best to keep our eyes open to signs to do certain things, I think this sign couldnt have been more obvious that we needed to take an easy day.
Thank you Jake and Jennifer for being so kind!
Jake made dinner and we all hung out for the rest of the evening. Back at it again tomorrow. We hope Cathrine's knee will feel better.
Day 162
We were up and ready by 8AM, before we left, Jake insisted we stay for pancakes and bacon. We were glad we did, they were delicious. We said our goodbyes and were off on another hike.
It was a beautiful day, warm again, the high was around 78. We hiked 15.9 miles to Mountaineer Falls, here there is a campsite tucked away and cozy. Got here about 4pm, I hung the bear bag and made a fire while Cathrine set up the tent and purified our water- our usual routine.
Cathrine's knee was better today, we hope it stays that way. 18 miles planned for tomorrow.
We were up and ready by 8AM, before we left, Jake insisted we stay for pancakes and bacon. We were glad we did, they were delicious. We said our goodbyes and were off on another hike.
It was a beautiful day, warm again, the high was around 78. We hiked 15.9 miles to Mountaineer Falls, here there is a campsite tucked away and cozy. Got here about 4pm, I hung the bear bag and made a fire while Cathrine set up the tent and purified our water- our usual routine.
Cathrine's knee was better today, we hope it stays that way. 18 miles planned for tomorrow.
Day 163
We hiked 17.9 miles today. As we make our way into the Roan highlands, Im convinced we saved the best part of the trail for last.
We had a LONG climb up Hump Mountain, this was alot of our elevation gain for Roan Mtn, which we go over tomorrow.
Along day, it was hot, hanging around 80, even at 5,500ft it was hot. We made it to Overmountain Shelter at around 5:30pm. This shelter was converted from a barn, pretty cool. 3 section hikers staying here with us tonight.
We're excited about Roan tomorrow.
We hiked 17.9 miles today. As we make our way into the Roan highlands, Im convinced we saved the best part of the trail for last.
We had a LONG climb up Hump Mountain, this was alot of our elevation gain for Roan Mtn, which we go over tomorrow.
Along day, it was hot, hanging around 80, even at 5,500ft it was hot. We made it to Overmountain Shelter at around 5:30pm. This shelter was converted from a barn, pretty cool. 3 section hikers staying here with us tonight.
We're excited about Roan tomorrow.
Day 164
We had some more amazing views this morning as we hiked through more of the Roan Highlands. Most of our day was spent at around 6,00 feet. The second half of the day was spent hiking downhill off of Roan Mountain. Cathrine's boots started hurting her again so I wore them for another 5 miles. Im pretty sure my toenails are coming loose.
We planned for 15 miles to Clyde Smith Shelter but when we got there at 3:30 ish we decided we could do another 2 miles to Greasy Creek Hostel. The hostel is another . 6 off the trail, ALL downhill.
We got here about 5pm, right when we walked in the owner, CeeCee, offered us work for stay. 1 hour of work for a couple of spots in the bunkroom. She also mentioned she's very OCD, we quickly learned this to be true.
CeeCee had us clean the bunkroom for our work for stay. We wiped down the mattresses and swept it out. The she had us clean the hostel "campshoes", washing and wiping them down. She then had us stack her firewood, which we did for a good 45 minutes. After that we swept out her whole house. She said we can clean the bathroom tomorrow. We were done working at around 6:30. Probably should have just paid the $7.
She drove us down to the local grill and we got pizza and chicken tenders for dinner.
It's supposed to rain tomorrow and put an end to all this summer like weather we've been having. Some pretty cold temperatures in the near future and snow on the way this weekend.
We had some more amazing views this morning as we hiked through more of the Roan Highlands. Most of our day was spent at around 6,00 feet. The second half of the day was spent hiking downhill off of Roan Mountain. Cathrine's boots started hurting her again so I wore them for another 5 miles. Im pretty sure my toenails are coming loose.
We planned for 15 miles to Clyde Smith Shelter but when we got there at 3:30 ish we decided we could do another 2 miles to Greasy Creek Hostel. The hostel is another . 6 off the trail, ALL downhill.
We got here about 5pm, right when we walked in the owner, CeeCee, offered us work for stay. 1 hour of work for a couple of spots in the bunkroom. She also mentioned she's very OCD, we quickly learned this to be true.
CeeCee had us clean the bunkroom for our work for stay. We wiped down the mattresses and swept it out. The she had us clean the hostel "campshoes", washing and wiping them down. She then had us stack her firewood, which we did for a good 45 minutes. After that we swept out her whole house. She said we can clean the bathroom tomorrow. We were done working at around 6:30. Probably should have just paid the $7.
She drove us down to the local grill and we got pizza and chicken tenders for dinner.
It's supposed to rain tomorrow and put an end to all this summer like weather we've been having. Some pretty cold temperatures in the near future and snow on the way this weekend.
Day 165
We slept in pretty late today considering the circumstances. CeeCee's neighbor apparently hates hikers so whenever he knows that there are hikers staying in the bunkhouse, he'll wake up at 5 am and ride his lawnmower around his yard and bang pieces of metal together. It didnt bother us much, we slept in until 10ish partly due to rainy weather.
We got all packed up and hung around the hostel for a few hours watching the weather waiting for it to clear up. CeeCee seemed to really want us to stay and drive to Asheville with her. But we need to keep making progress.
As we finally set out for the trail, leaving the hostel, the neighbor had one final goodbye, yelling profanities at us as we walked by. Back on the trail by 12, it stopped raining, but we were still in a sheet of thick fog. Also the temperature rapidly started dropping. We figured given the weather and the late start we would hike 7.2 miles to the first shelter and call it a day.
We got here at 3pm, set up the tent and got warmed up. Its supposed to get in the mid 30s tonight. 17.5 miles into Erwin tomorrow. Surprisingly we still haven't seen one sobo since leaving Damascus over a week ago.
We slept in pretty late today considering the circumstances. CeeCee's neighbor apparently hates hikers so whenever he knows that there are hikers staying in the bunkhouse, he'll wake up at 5 am and ride his lawnmower around his yard and bang pieces of metal together. It didnt bother us much, we slept in until 10ish partly due to rainy weather.
We got all packed up and hung around the hostel for a few hours watching the weather waiting for it to clear up. CeeCee seemed to really want us to stay and drive to Asheville with her. But we need to keep making progress.
As we finally set out for the trail, leaving the hostel, the neighbor had one final goodbye, yelling profanities at us as we walked by. Back on the trail by 12, it stopped raining, but we were still in a sheet of thick fog. Also the temperature rapidly started dropping. We figured given the weather and the late start we would hike 7.2 miles to the first shelter and call it a day.
We got here at 3pm, set up the tent and got warmed up. Its supposed to get in the mid 30s tonight. 17.5 miles into Erwin tomorrow. Surprisingly we still haven't seen one sobo since leaving Damascus over a week ago.
Day 166
It was chilly getting up this morning, but once you get going it isnt so bad. We climbed Unaka Mountain right off the bat, theres a dense spruce forest up there, it was very cold and dark. Pretty creepy. We had lunch at Beauty Spot Gap with a great view.
When we got to where the trail crosses TN395 there ws a gentleman, "Brother Tom" doing trail magic. Her gave us some apples and brownies and we sat and talked to him for half an hour or so. He sits out there every week day when its not raining and gives hikers food and drinks. A very cool guy.
We made it to "Unlce Johnny;s Nolichucky Hostel", where we are staying in Erwin, at about 5pm. We plan on staying here atleast tonight, probably longer. The weather says a huge snow storm is moving in later tomorrow sometime with 18+ inches in the higher elevation. If we hike out, we would be at 5,500 feet tomorrow, not the place to be in a bad weather storm. We were thinking about possibly slackpacking 10 miles tomorrow, just so were making some kinds of progress.
We got a shuttle further into Erwin where we got dropped off at an authentic mexican restaurant. Best mexican ever. We walked down to Food Lion and got enough food to get us to Hot Springs, NC. and got a ride back to Uncle Johnny's
We're hanigng out in our room with a stack of VHS's wondering which movie to watch first. Most likely gonna be here for a while.
It was chilly getting up this morning, but once you get going it isnt so bad. We climbed Unaka Mountain right off the bat, theres a dense spruce forest up there, it was very cold and dark. Pretty creepy. We had lunch at Beauty Spot Gap with a great view.
When we got to where the trail crosses TN395 there ws a gentleman, "Brother Tom" doing trail magic. Her gave us some apples and brownies and we sat and talked to him for half an hour or so. He sits out there every week day when its not raining and gives hikers food and drinks. A very cool guy.
We made it to "Unlce Johnny;s Nolichucky Hostel", where we are staying in Erwin, at about 5pm. We plan on staying here atleast tonight, probably longer. The weather says a huge snow storm is moving in later tomorrow sometime with 18+ inches in the higher elevation. If we hike out, we would be at 5,500 feet tomorrow, not the place to be in a bad weather storm. We were thinking about possibly slackpacking 10 miles tomorrow, just so were making some kinds of progress.
We got a shuttle further into Erwin where we got dropped off at an authentic mexican restaurant. Best mexican ever. We walked down to Food Lion and got enough food to get us to Hot Springs, NC. and got a ride back to Uncle Johnny's
We're hanigng out in our room with a stack of VHS's wondering which movie to watch first. Most likely gonna be here for a while.
Day 167
We stayed up late watching Star Wars last night. For some reason we were up early this morning with little intentions of hiking. I was in and out of our room every 15 minutes or so to see if I could find some other sobos who also didnt want to hike out today and would be interested in splitting a shuttle further south down the trail so we could slackpack back north to uncle johnnys. We got lucky when a group of sobos hiked in around 8am. They had a slackpack in mind, from the same place to make the most of our time before the weather hit. It was great to be able to split the cost 5 ways, our only hesitation of slackpacking today was how much it would cost.
We got dropped off at Spivey Gap, where he trail crosses at US 19 and hiked the 10.7 miles north back to Erwin. It was a nice hike and we beat the bad weather. Always good to make some kind of progress, even if it isnt much.
The weather is getting worse and worse so we're probably not hiking at all tomorrow. Hoping to see some good snow though.
Day 168
It snowed pretty much all afternoon. We did nothing but watch mvies all day. We ordered Italian for lunch. We went out to dinner with Uncle Johnny and his family.
It's not likely but we're hoping it warms up enough to melt some of the ice covering the roads so we can get a ride back to Spivey Gap tomorrow and continue hiking.
A group of section hikers drove up from Alabama to the hostel today to get a shuttle up to Indian Grave Gap TN 395. Uncle Johnny highly advised against them hiking and said it was dangerous and said they would be back in the morning. His wife shuttled them up before we left for dinner and when we got back, there they were hanging out at the hostel. I assume they hitched a ride back down off the mountain, it must be really bad up in the higher elevations.
