Wednesday, April 20, 1994 (Standing Indian Mountain) – The Red Rainman, Brown Falcon (Lance), and I packed up and were on the trail by 9am this morning and the time went quickly despite the steep ascents
(The Standing Indian Shelter has moved to a new location since our hike in 1994. It is now closer to the summit of Standing Indian).
Thursday, April 21, 1994 (Rainbow Springs Campground) – I was on the trail by 8am this morning and the miles came easy as they were mostly downhill with the exception of Albert Mountain which was a steep and challenging ascent. There is a firetower at the summit and the views are outstanding to the north and east. It was also nice to climb into the winds and get some relief from the gnats which have been annoying the last few days – to say the least. I ran into two hunters in full camo this afternoon as
(On November 11, 2001, I returned to hike the 0.6 miles between Rock Gap and Wallace Gap which I missed with the wrong turn to Standing Indian Campground and subsequent hitch to Rainbow Springs Campground.)
Friday, April 22, 1994 (Rainbow Springs Campground) – Slept until about 9am
Saturday, April 23, 1994 (Wine Spring Campsite) – Woke up just around 8am this morning, took a shower, then packed up at the campsite. I spoke briefly with Bull then had a lengthy conversation with Mo on the telephone. The Motor City Ramblers and Slowly/Surely showed up at the campground right as Maineac and I were catching a ride via the Rainbow Springs station wagon to Wallace Gap. I hiked to Siler Bald shelter by 2:30pm but it was empty (and still early) so I moved on to the Wine Spring campsite where I pitched my tent and spent my first solo night on the Appalachian Trail. It was clear this evening with a bright moon after dark. The Walkman was nice to have after hours.
Sunday, April 24, 1994 (NOC Campground) – I was packed up and on the trail by 9:13am and slept well last night despite having my first solo night on the trail. Most of the hiking was downhill today so I decided to crank out 20 miles to get
Monday, April 25, 1994 (Cheoah Bald) – I walked about a mile from the campground to the Nantahala Outdoor Center this morning and bought a few things at the outdoor store. I saw a number of thru-
Tuesday, April 26, 1994 (Cable Gap Campsite) – The rain started around 3:45am this morning, but it stopped by the time Buzz took off at 8am. He is on a four month schedule since he has to be back in school at Virginia Tech by the fall quarter. I saw him take a swallow of vegetable oil to keep the fat calories in his system. He is a skinny dude, and the
Wednesday, April 27, 1994 (Fontana Village Hostel) – I was up early at the Cable Gap Shelter and hit the trail by 8:30am. It was a six mile hike to NC 28 and I caught a ride from the road to Fontana Village with another hiker. I didn’t feel particularly guilty missing the section from NC 28 to the Fontana Shelter (aka Fontana Hilton) since I just
Thursday, April 28, 1994 (Birch Spring Shelter) – Slept until about 8am this morning, then had breakfast with Falling Rock (Don) after we stopped at the post office to pick up our mail drops. I had a new tape for the Walkman and was looking forward to breaking it in on the climb to Birch Spring Shelter. I packed up and lounged around the Village until 2pm this
Friday, April 29, 1994 (Derrick Knob Shelter) – Cranked out sixteen miles today and it was hot and buggy for most of the hike. At 1pm, I ran into Monk and Ski at the Spence Field Shelter right as a major thunderstorm was
Saturday, April 30, 1994 (Willow Motel – Gatlinburg, TN) – The weather was very pleasant for hiking today and the drop in temperature virtually eliminated the gnats that have been circling my head during the last few days. There was a steady wind this morning and it was very gusty along the ridge tops and in the open areas along the A.T. Some of the thru-hikers were cold enough to heat up packets of soup when we hit the Silers Bald Shelter for a noon lunch break. The group included Monk, Nikki/Nols, Walking Stick/Laughing Bird, and Taco Bob and the main topic of discussion was hitching to Gatlinburg for the night. By the time we hiked to Clingman’s Dome in the mid-afternoon, the decision was final. We
Monday, May 2, 1994 (Mount Collins Shelter) – Taco Bob, Falling Rock and I had another huge breakfast this morning then we took the Gatlinburg trolley to Pigeon Forge to check out the Elvis museum. The trolley passed by the campground where I stayed during Spring Break with Knights and LaCerdas in 1981 over Easter weekend. I enjoyed seeing the place again. In Pigeon Forge, the Elvis museum was pretty small but entertaining. We had to hustle back to Gatlinburg to
Tuesday, May 3, 1994 (Ice Water Springs Shelter) – I slept in until 10am this morning and was the last to leave the shelter today. Taco Bob and I hit the trail around 10:30am but we got separated when I took a wrong turn and walked 1 1/2 hours in the wrong direction on a side trail near Indian Gap. It started raining after we left the shelter and didn’t stop all day. When I hit Newfound Gap at 1:15pm, I decided to dry out briefly in the bathroom and it was a welcome break. From here, it was three miles to the Icewater Spring Shelter and it went by quickly despite the showers and steady climb to P.S. Late night, things got interesting when Ranger Smith positioned a candy wrapper about a half inch from his hiking stick. When he heard some “action” on the candy wrapper, he knew he had a mouse. In the darkness of the shelter, Ranger Smith slowly lifted his wood hiking stick and slammed it to the floor of the upper deck. By repeating this process 4-5 times during the night he managed to kill three mice. It was terrifying to fall asleep and be jolted awake by the slam of the hiking stick on the mouse, but the vermin were running rampant. A successful kill usually resulted in a “Whoo … eeeey, look at him bleed.” Surprisingly, the mice kept coming back for more punishment until after midnight when the death campaign ceased and I drifted off to sleep once again.
Wednesday, May 4, 1994 (Tri-Corner Knob Shelter) – I left Ice Water Spring Shelter between 9:30-10am this morning and hiked thirteen miles to the Tri-Corner Knob shelter with Taco Bob and Falling Rock. We had lunch along the A.T. at the
Thursday, May 5, 1994 (Mountain Mama’s Kuntry Kitchen) – I hiked the entire day in long underwear and long pants due to the cool temps in the Smokies today. The fleece hat and gloves were also on/off during the hike since it was pretty chilly when I hit the trail at 9am with Falling Rock and Taco Bob.
Friday, May 6, 1994 (The Seeker’s Apartment, Greensboro, N.C.) – I hung out at Mountain Mama’s Kuntry Kitchen all day and the time went surprisingly fast. A number of thru-hikers rolled in this afternoon and I devoured
Saturday, May 7, 1994 (The Seeker’s Apartment, Greensboro, N.C.) – I slept until around 9am this morning and saw Clayton briefly who was on his way to study for an accounting final at UNCG on Monday.
(The Hicks “Appalachian Trail Mix” was recorded on this day in the apartment of Ed Clayton and Kevin Hicks after I went through their CD collection and picked out some interesting tunes.)
Sunday, May 8, 1994 (Braemar Castle Hostel, Hampton, TN.) – I called Mom and Dad this morning and both were in Z-town, so The Seeker, Clayton and I headed out for a quick breakfast.
On May 8, the Seeker and Hawkeye dropped me off at Hampton, Tennessee so that I could hike the 40.7 miles in to Trail Days at Damascus, Virginia. Trail Days was the largest festival on the Appalachian Trail at the time and was a great experience. After it ended on May 13th, I caught a ride from Damascus with the owner of Mountain Mama’s Kuntry Kitchen and finished the Davenport Gap to Hampton, Tennessee section on May 27th.
Monday, May 9, 1994 (Vandeventer Shelter) – I got up at 10am this morning and took a shower and packed up for the trail. Taco Bob and Falling Rock caught a shuttle to Trail Days and grabbed some campsites by the river.
Tuesday, May 10, 1994 (Double Springs Shelter) – I hiked from 8:30am to 3:30pm today and covered fifteen miles to reach the Double Springs shelter by mid-afternoon. It was nice weather for walking, and I felt like hiking further but it was ten miles to the next shelter and my tent was with Falling Rock at Trail Days. There were 6-7 other hikers at the Double Springs shelter tonight, and we had a big dinner this evening. The bugs have not been bad lately and it has been enjoyable hiking throughout the day. There was an 80% eclipse that hit at 1pm, and the skies got somewhat dark for a few hours.
Wednesday, May 11, 1994 (Damascus Hostel) – I hiked 18.2 miles today into Damascus to take the next four days off at
Thursday, May 12, 1994 (Tent City, Damascus Virginia) – I packed up at the hostel this morning and headed for Tent City near the river. Falling Rock slept in my tent the last few days, but moved over to the hostel and I took up
Friday, May 13, 1994 (Tent City, Damascus Virginia) – Falling Rock, Taco Bob and I went to the bean dinner at 11am today which was sponsored by the local senior citizen’s group. At the lunch Don entertained some older ladies who really
On May 13th, I caught a ride from Damascus, VA with the owner of Mountain Mama’s Kuntry Kitchen back to Davenport Gap, NC. I missed the section of the A.T. between Davenport Gap and Hampton, TN when the Seeker and Hawkeye dropped me off on May 8th in Hampton, TN so that I could hike in to Trail Days – the largest Appalachian Trail festival at the time – and a really great event back in 1994. So this was my chance to make this section up.
Saturday, May 14, 1994 (Mountain Mama’s Kuntry Store) – Texas Turtle talked to John (aka. Papa Mama from Mountain Moma’s Kuntry Store) and scored a ride for me back to Davenport Gap where I got off the trail a week ago. John was in town for Trail Days and to promote his store and bunkhouse. He offered me a free ride this afternoon, and after a big $3 AYCE breakfast at the Dairy Freeze with Taco Bob, I left town at 2:30pm with Texas Turtle, Trail Snail, High 5-er,
Sunday, May 15, 1994 (Groundhog Creek Shelter) – I was up at 7:15am this morning to change parts on my camp stove,
Monday, May 16, 1994 (Walnut Mountain Shelter) – The
Tuesday, May 17, 1994 (Jesuit Hostel, Hot Springs, N.C.) – It was cool this morning when I woke up and in the upper 30’s to low 40’s. I
Wednesday, May 18, 1994 (Mill Ridge) – I spent the morning doing town chores and stopped at the bank, P.O., grocery, and hardware store (for fuel) today. At the P.O., I ran into Wingfoot and talked with him in detail. It was nice to finally meet the author of the Thru-Hiker’s Handbook after using it for the last several weeks on the Trail. By noon, I was getting hungry and stopped at Smoky’s
Thursday, May 19, 1994 (Little Laurel Ridge) –
Friday, May 20, 1994 (Hogback Ridge Shelter) – Today was my biggest mileage day yet … 21.3 miles hiked from 9:50AM to 7:30pm. I left Little Laurel Spring Shelter with plans to stay at Flint Mountain until I read about a girl being bitten by a rabid fox in the shelter overnight. It was around 2-3pm when I read the journal entry from the previous night, and I decided to move northbound on the A.T. since I am in a thru-hiker gap and would most certainly spend the night solo in the shelter. I was extremely exhausted by the time I reached the Hogback Ridge Shelter this evening. I shared it with two guys from Maryland that had a fire going when I arrived at dusk. Both just graduated from High School and were on a two week vacation in the south.
Saturday, May 21, 1994 (No Business Knob Shelter) – I got a late start today and didn’t begin hiking
Sunday, May 22, 1994 (NOC Hostel – Erwin, TN) – I left the shelter by 8:30am this morning and hiked seven miles to the NOC Hostel in Erwin,
Monday, May 23, 1994 (Cherry Gap Shelter) – I got up around 8am today to catch a ride with a kayaker into town to ship a maildrop ahead and
Tuesday, May 24, 1994 (Roan High Knob Shelter) – I left the shelter by 9am today and had a big climbing day with Roan Mountain on the schedule. The bugs (gnats/black flies) were driving me crazy during the hike. Fortunately, the rain showers that hit around 4-5pm finally brought some relief and
Wednesday, May 25, 1994 (Roan Mountain Hostel) – It was a chilly hike out from the shelter this morning but it warmed up quickly. We had some of the best views of the entire trip today as we crossed the Hump Mountains which had spectacular views in all directions.
Thursday, May 26, 1994 (Moreland Gap Shelter) – The A.T. shuttle left the hostel at 9am this morning, and I hiked a 13.6 mile section that was rumor
Friday, May 27, 1994 (Braemar Castle Hostel) – It was cold this morning and very hard to get out of the sleeping bag, so I didn’t hit the trail until around 9:30am. After running into Monk and hiking a few miles, we had lunch and saw the slackpacking Rational Hedonists, Freebird, and
On May 28th, I caught a ride with Zig (of the Rational Hedonists) and Purple Haze from Hampton, TN back to Damascus, VA to start the Virginia section of the A.T. I hiked the 40.7 miles from Hampton to Damascus a few weeks earlier from May 8-May 11 so that I could walk in to Trail Days – the biggest festival held on the A.T. in 1994. Follow this link to continue reading about my hike on the Virginia section of the Appalachian Trail.
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