A group of us tried slack packing (sending your pack ahead and hiking with less weight) from Connie's Greasy Creek Friendly back to Erwin which would of been about 25 miles. However, we went four miles in the wrong direction. Why? The trail does a little horseshoe and south on the compass is actually north on the trail. There was no way to tell until we hit the first shelter. Therefore, we ended up back tracking back to the friendly and staying the night.
The next morning I woke up congested and with a scratchy throat. Out of the group Hump and I road with Connie back to town to get everyone's gear. On the way we dropped off a hiker named Turtle at the clinic for an infected finger. We then went to Johnson City to help Connie do some shopping. But first, we took her to a chinese buffet for Mothers Day. After about fifteen plates of food and real ice cream (that's a first) I was stuffed. Yet, when we went to Sams and Walmart I was still craving more food ... so I bought more. Hey... gotta feed the beast.
By the time we got back to Connie's it was past seven. We talked with the group and decided to try another slack pack. This slack would be tomorrow morning starting at Hump Mountain and back to Connie's for a total of 27 miles. Morning came and all but Hump and I bowed out (wine was involved). I was still feeling a little sick but I decided to give it a shot regardless. We tore it up! Twenty-seven in about 10-11 hours.
Since the 27 miles went so well and we were set on walking into Damascus VA we decided to slack pack 25 miles to the next hostel and then maybe try for 40 miles the next day. Well, we started late (1pm) for the 25 and had a ridiculously slow pace. Furthermore, the terrain and distances listed in the AWOL guide seemed off. Add to all that, the inside of my knee started getting sore half way through. After a few hours of night hiking we eventually got to the hostel around midnight. We had bumped into a fellow hiker earlier named Lawdawg who had already done 12 miles and was headed to the same hostel ... that's a 37 mile day. His 37 plus our 52 miles in 36 hours left us all exhausted. They passed out on a floor somewhere and I set up my tent in the backyard.
My plan the next day was to take the hostel ride into town and hike north from there. After a shower and some laundry at the hostel we took the ride into town. Hump and I walked down to the subway to get some food and that's when I started feeling not so good. Lucky for me a few people in the subway offered us rides north. We jumped on that idea (especially me since I was feeling nauseous). A gentleman named Mike offered to drive us to a motel in Mountain City. Mike was a cool guy. He was a retired teacher, had done half the signs & billboards in the area, had all kinds of cool cars that he was working on, and wouldn't let us pay for gas. Talk about generosity! Anyways, Hump and I rode in the bed of his truck while Mike stopped every once in a while and gave us some history about the area. Apparently back in the early 1900s they moved a whole town up the road to build Watauga Dam & Lake. Mike showed us some of the houses that were moved. Since I'm somewhat of a history fan I found all of this really cool.
After Mike dropped us off at the motel I started feeling worse. I became more congested, had a headache, and started getting a stomach cramp like I never felt before. That cramp lasted all night and I definitely felt like throwing up a few times. I can only assume I caught the Norovirus at one of the hostels that had hit 70% of the hikers on the trail. If that's the case I'm glad I wasn't on the trail and that mine seems pretty mild.
As I'm writing this I'm feeling much better. I decided to stay at the motel an extra day and then hike the 12 miles into Damascus for trail days this weekend. Except for the sickness and bum knee this week has been great. I got to see some of the most beautiful sights on the trail so far and pushed myself beyond my mental limits.
Can't wait till tomorrow and the hiker extravaganza. Oh and 400 miles down!
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