“Many Days in One”

AT Day 20

Miles: 18.93

Total Miles: 355.24

(North of No Business Knob Shelter)

So much happened today that it feels odd that it all took place in just one day. It feels more like a week. But that feeling comes up when you combine town chores (especially like today’s) with part of the day spent on trail.

I wish that I could have slept better last night. My watch reads that I slept well, but I tossed and turned a lot. It was my first night sleeping outside of my tent in a designated camping area set up by the hostel. They wanted $40 for a bunk but $15 for camping… and with all the other expenses lately, camping under an awning made sense to me.

I decided this morning that I wasn’t going to go back to trail until I got to see a doctor and another prescription for antibiotics. My left shin is still too much of a concern and hurting too much to ignore. It’s been seven days now since I started the Doxy script, but it didn’t do enough. So instead of going back to trail, I shuttled into town, went to an urgent care, got two new prescriptions written that will hopefully bring this issue to resolution, and then back to the hostel, then back to the trail.

Even writing it all out sounds like a lot. It took almost 4 hours… I was hoping for much less. But it could have been more. And I’d like to add that the gal running the hostel, Amy, was super-extremely awesome and helpful!She shuttled me to the Urgent Care, waited in the van while I had my appt with a doctor, and did the same while I got my script filled. I tipped her and she acted like such a thing never happens. Whatever. I hope that I’m wrong. But either way, she was super helpful in my day today.

It rained this morning while I was at my doctor’s appt, but by the time I got to trail (noon), it was mostly cleared off. The temps weren’t as bad today as they were yesterday because of the rain, but it was still a bit warm. There was also quite a climb out from Sam’s Gap, where I stared the hike today, but it led to a beautiful view at the top of Big Bald.

I met another hiker up there who had been at the hostel last night. His story is his own to tell, but the part that he had shared with me was really moving. He’d had a buddy who had wanted to hike the AT, who was killed by a drunk driver last year. Long story made short, it’s the reason why he’s on trail–carrying a lot of that guy’s gear. We started into conversation last night at the hostel when I commented on his tattoos. He has some incredible and extensive work.

He’d been up at the top of Big Bald for two hours, he told me. Hanging out like that from time to time might do me some good, but I’m never really all that good at it. A lot of hikers comment on my having “a lot of energy.” And I get it I guess… but I also sometimes wish that I were better at sitting down and didn’t feel like I needed to be doing 200 pushups a day, or whatever the count is supposed to be. I got 180 today.

There were two dogs that came at me and scared the absolute shit out of me today. I was definitely in a bit of a trippy-dippy part of my morning, and these two dogs approached from up the road. They both had collars on, one big dog and one little one. And as the big one was about 10 feet away from me, he freaked the fuck out and started violently barking at me. I don’t mean to be profane, but it scared the absolute shit out of me! I was backing away, swinging both my hiking poles at the big one, and screaming at him to fuck off. Then these two ladies came bounding down trail yelling at me and the dogs. I screamed at them, “Not fucking cool, dude! Not fucking cool!” And they told me that the dogs weren’t theirs, but they had just been following them up trail for the last few miles… makes almost no sense to me. I asked, as they got closer, if they were going to go back to where those dogs were, as I was worried about their safety, but they both told me that the dogs liked them and that they weren’t a problem for them. So I guess it was just me…

Oh… Big Bald again. We were up there together as the storms were rolling in again. It was incredible. I have said several times that “THIS” is the best view that I’ve had on the AT so far, but really that’s hard to say because there aren’t really any great views on this trail… at least not up to here. Today’s was better than what I’ve seen so far though. And as a bonus, it wasn’t all clouded out, like Max Patch had been. There were amazing clouds all about and thunder in the distance though. I asked the guy who I met up there how long he thought until that weather started hitting us. He said an hour, but I decided to head back down trail and not risk it. I’ve already been hit by lightning while under the influence of a psychedelic once in my life… don’t need to see it happen again out here.

Hung out at the next shelter with some hikers for a bit. Got a short workout in. They were all staying there for the night. I wanted to get more miles in. In their defense, they probably would have been too, were it not for the storm rolling in.

When the rain hit today it was torrential. The trail turned into a river for an hour or so. I was fortunate that I got my rain gear all the way on before it hit, but just barely. At first I just put on my rain jacket, then put my pack on. But immediately I reconsidered, dropped pack again, put on rain pants, and went back to trail. It was a good decision. The rain was violent.

The lightning was bad too. And it spooked me for about five minutes while i had to go over the top of a ridge at the beginning. But after that ridge it was going to be all downhill and into lower elevations, so it felt worth the risk to me. I feel like I made the right decision.

Other than my feet, mostly I stayed dry. My feet were of course soaked through and through, but most of the rest of my gear stayed pretty dry. I do have a new rain jacket that’s being mailed up trail in three days. It’s a jacket I’ve had for some time, but it’s much more sturdy than the light weight one I have with me now. I like my little light jacket, but I know that there will be a lot of rain up ahead, and I’m willing to carry just a bit more weight if it means staying more dry.

Happy to report that my shin feels even better today–likely a result of getting meds. I’m hopeful that this next 7 day cycle will completely knock out the infection that knocked ME out for several days last week.

Otherwise, that’s about all I’ve got for the day.

Storm cleared into a stunning evening with wonderful temperatures. I ended up hiking to the next shelter to have dinner, but most of the hikers were already well asleep by the time I got there just after sunset. Still, I had dehydrated potatoes and peanut butter pretzles, hiked back down trail .2 miles because I missed my last opportunity to refill on water for the next 6 miles, and then did just a bit more distance to find the camp sight I’m at now. I was planning to camp somewhere around the shelter, but after getting there late, I didn’t like the feeling I was getting from the other hikers and didn’t want to make noise setting up my tent and writing my journal tonight. Glad that I carried on.

Tomorrow I’ll hike into the city of Erwin (same town I shuttled to for the doctor visit today), have a short resupply, and then cross a river… there will be more to say about that when it comes.

Last year the flood completely washed away a major bridge across a big big water way. Now the ACT offers raft rides across, but I’ve heard rumors that it might be possible to swim across. Not sure. But if it is, then I may ask them to carry my back by raft, and I may try swimming it.

We’ll see.

Wormwood, out.