16 miles today. Mouse Trap and I left the Greasy Creek Friendly and C.C. the owner at 9ish after an interesting morning. We were awaikened at 5:30 by a blaring christian rock station, a lawnmower/siren sonata and a chainsaw concerto from the obviously disturbed and wrongly disgruntled neighbor. It seems he used to live alone up at the top of Greasy Creek and didn’t like having people around. Now he has C.C. across the road who takes in thru-hikers, who he considers homeless transients and doesn’t understand what the AT and thru-hiking is. So he makes all the noise he can and tries to disrupt the hostel, excuse me, friendly, at all costs.
We were completely amused and thouroly enjoyed the friendly. We were thinking of offering the guy gas money for all the galoons he must have burned with his lawn mower and chainsaw, just to see how he’d react.
Anyway, after breakfast and saying goodbye to C.C. we headed back to the trail. It was a long day and a very strenuos, Grand Canyon style, climb up to the top of Roan Mountain; a crapy climb lacking the reputed payoff of great views due to heavy, Great Smokies esc, smog and cloud cover. After that it was pretty smooth sailing to the shelter, which is overstuffed and has a surrounding city of tents. None of the current campers in or directly around the shelter were thru-hikers, so now all 8 of us who are thru-hiking are up on the ridge. Ah well.
The trail from Roan to here was completely crapy and my left foot has started twinging a bit. Nothing a little Vitamin I won’t take care of. Tomorrow is gonna be nice, something like 17.2 miles to a shelter built last year on almost entirely flat ground, HALLELUYAh. I may go a little farther considering the terrain, but I’m not sure. I’m really looking forward to the Kincora Hostel in two days.
I’m feeling great. I’m trying to eat as much as possible because I brought way too much food. I’m trying to get my pack weight down to 20 or less pounds without water. I’ll be sending some cold weather gear home in Damascus so that will help greatly. My hiking kilt has worked FLAWLESSLY so far. Thanks Kyle so much for suggesting one that day in Mr. Dick’s class. I’ll have pictures of me in it up as soon as I get somewhere with broadband internet.
I’ve not much else to report so I’m going to bed.
Toodles everyone,
Seth “Osprey” Schumacher
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