May 18, 2005 - Flint Mountain Shelter to Jerry’s Cabin
I was up early as usual. I got three more mice last night with traps. There was only one other person in the shelter. I
had oatmeal and coffee for breakfast and left the shelter by 7:30 a.m. I hiked up Big Butt Mountain and came
across some pretty open areas and big rocks. I passed two Civil War graves and a place where a 1968 through
hikers ashes had been scattered. His name was Bassett from Conn. I got to Jerry Cabin at 11:30 a.m. and decided
to stay for the night. Slow days are good thing for the legs and muscles. Warren Doyle, a former thru-hiker has a
business on the trail shuttling hikers around and up the trail to Maine. They do 20+ miles a day and carry no pack.
They have all of their gear in a van waiting for them in the evening along with water and extra supplies. They camp
at road crossings. While at this shelter this day a group of them came by this shelter. None were happy. They all
had 2 knee braces on their knees. They stopped for 15 minutes and complained the whole time they were there. I
am glad I hike with a pack and go my own speed. I consider Doyle an Idiot but to each his own way. I told several of
the hikers to hike ½ the trail right instead of the whole thing wrong and many seemed to agree with me. It is a long
way from here to Maine for you poor souls. Good Luck was all I could say. They are doing the whole trail in 120
days. No one will say on his or her death bed that he wishes he had done the Appalachian Trail faster. People are
missing the point of why they are on the trail in the first place. Relax and take it easy like the Rowmin Goat! It is 3:30
p.m. and I am still here at the present time. The next shelter is 6.8 miles. If the rain moves out I will go a little farther
than that. I will get closer to Hot Springs so I can get in and out in the same day. Another hiker by the trail name of
Pack Mule came in and stayed here. He is hunting for his girlfriend coming north and should be around here. Here
name is Cherokee. She carries a T-P to camp in.
May 19, 2005 – Jerry’s Cabin to Spring Mountain Shelter
I slept well in the night and left the shelter after the usual breakfast of oatmeal and coffee. I got six mice last night in
the traps. If everyone would do this at the shelters we would not have any problems with the vermin. I hiked a fairly
easy 6 miles to the first shelter, Little Laurel Shelter. I took a long break here with Pack Mule. The spring here is on
the other side of the trail and is in the side of the hill and protected with large rocks in a neat formation. It looks as if
it has been here for a long time. I left after one hour and hiked another 8.7 miles to the Spring Mountain Shelter. It
was a hard day of hiking considering the miles that I did. I am really tired as I get to the shelter. The spring here is
way over the hill but not too steep and a very good water source. Pack Mule will stay here along with a couple of
thru-hikers in hammocks up on the hill. It will probably rain here tonight so it is a real advantage to be in a shelter
even though it is a small and old one. I stayed here 25 years ago on my 1981 trip. Pack Mule went to take a leak at
dark behind the shelter and came back looking like he had seen a ghost. He said I just pissed on a rattle snake! We
all thought he was kidding at first but he showed us that big snake! It was in the bushes and that is where we left it. It
really stormed in the night and I felt sorry for the guys in the hammocks. The next morning the hammock dwellers
came down to the shelter and told us of the harrowing night they had. They did stay dry but tree limbs fell very close
to them in the night thunderstorm. We slept well in the shelter.
May 20, 2005 - Spring Mountain Shelter to Camp One Mile South of Hot Springs
I got up early but did not leave the shelter until 8:30 a.m. It was raining when I left. Hiking down to Hot Springs I came
on a camp site and saw a T-P. Pack Mule was happy to see this for he knew that Cherokee was nearby. I met her
and her dog and left soon after that because it was still raining. I keep moving when I am in the rain. I parted
company with Pack Mule too at this point. I hiked steadily into Hot Springs and got there at 2:00 p.m. I had a lot to do
so I needed to stay busy. I took a shower at the edge of town for $2 dollars at the N.O.C. I then went to the post
office and got my mail, the outfitters to get some groceries and fuel and then to the regular grocery store for the rest
of my food supplies. My clothes needed to be washed so I did laundry close by the food store. I then had to stop by
the forest service office and pick up a permit for Smoky Mountain National Park I would be hiking in a few days. I had
planned to stay in town for the night but a motorcycle convention in the area had everything full. I ate at the south
end of town at a good restaurant and I left town soon after. It was late when I left and after all of this I was already
tired before I started up out of Hot Springs. I met Spike, a thru-hiker who was injured and taking a few days off in
town. He told me to be on the lookout for his girlfriend and Kentucky, another thru-hiker she was with. I met them the
next morning. I hiked two miles out of town and just plain ran out of gas. I bivouacked on a flat spot at dark and
slept well under my tarp. It did not rain and I was glad for that. I could still hear the activity in the valley and see the
lights as I set up camp.
May 21, 2005 -Two Miles South of Hot Springs to Walnut Mountain Shelter
I left my make shift camp with just coffee to drink and a snack and got to the next shelter, Deer Park Mountain
Shelter an hour later. I stopped here for an hour and cooked up some eggs and sausage I had carried from town
and made some coffee too. I carry fresh coffee on the trail. I can’t stand instant coffee and the grounds add fiber to
your diet if you drink a few of them. It smells good too. I ran into Kentucky and girlfriend of Spike and talked to them
for 15 minutes or so. They seemed real friendly and I would read trail entries up in Massachusetts from Kentucky
late in the fall. It was funny to hear him proclaim that he was the last north bounder from 2005 going to Maine. He
wasn’t but at the time he thought he was. That is the beauty of hiking in long sections. You tend to know people you
never meet, or you meet the same people twice in the same year hundreds of miles apart. I never did meet Kentucky
again but read many trail entries from him in 2005. I read one in 2006 up in Maine and he did make it to Katahdin! I
hiked hard all day. There was a lot of climbing in this day and I was very tired when I got to Walnut Mountain Shelter.
There were 5 or 6 people already here when I got into camp. They were all nice people. Karen and her brother
along with another friend were north bound for a week or so and we talked of the trail and how I got so much time off
to hike. I said, live cheap and simple is the way for me and you can do what you wish. People out for the weekend
don’t always seem to understand this but this group seemed to. This Shelter is a nice old one built in 1937. I got 4
mice in my traps in the night. Tomorrow is a big day for me so I will rest up.
May 22, 2005 -Walnut Mountain Shelter to Groundhog Creek Shelter
I slept well on a cool night and left the shelter at 6:40 a.m. without breakfast. I got to the Old Roaring Fork Shelter
where I did have breakfast and hung out for an hour. This is a nice old shelter with an inside separating picnic table
in it. There is a new shelter being built near here and it is said this one will be torn down. I hope not. This shelter has
a lot of life left in it. I left this shelter and hiked past the new Roaring Fork Shelter under construction and took some
pictures of it. It will be interesting to see the shelter completed in years to come. I hiked up over Max Patch, a
beautiful area with many views and open fields. It was a little cloudy today but the scenery was so spectacular it didn’
t matter. I got to Groundhog Creek Shelter at 2:30 p.m. and three people were already here. Two of them talked
business all afternoon. Stay at home if you must do that. At least go somewhere by yourself and don’t make me
listen to it at the shelter sight. They had no time to talk of the beautiful area and nature that they say on this day,
just business. I will go to Standing Bear Farm Hostel tomorrow. I need a few groceries to get through the Smokys. I
will re supply at Newfound Gap ½ of the way through the Smokys. The three here settled down later in the evening
and the shelter area had 15 people around it by dark. The hoards are still moving north on this day.
May 23, 2005 - Groundhog Creek Shelter to Standing Bear Farm Hostel
It rained cats and dogs in the night and I was in a warm, dry shelter. The shelter was full too. I left the shelter at 7:15
a.m. I hiked hard to the hostel. This is a nice rustic and laid back place. A lot of hostels have many rules but this
one is do what you wish. As long as everyone behaves his or herself that is fine. We had a few get drunk here but
they bothered no one else. This place has a large bunkhouse where only three of us stayed. It has a tow bed cabin
over a creek which the party goers stayed. It had a nice shower house and a computer shack and a cooking shack
too. I liked how all the rooms were separate from the other ones. It costs $15.00 to stay here and Curtis the man
who helps run the place will take you to the post office and store nearby for free in the afternoon. I built a wood fired
hot tub at my home and Curtis was interested in how to build one for the hostel. I had my wife Virginia send pictures
to him to help in his design. While I had the day off I did laundry and caught up on my emails at the computer. I
bought a few groceries at a nearby truck stop and I boiled 6 eggs to have over the next few days. I sent my good
tarp back to Florida and I left my unwanted sweater at the hiker box for others to use. I use a sitting pad and my old
one had been forgotten at a scenic overlook. I found some material in hiker box and Roy II was born. I often joke that
I name all my equipment while on the trail. Roy is after, [anti hemorrhoids]. You know what your mother said about
setting on concrete or rocks don’t you? Freddy Bear carries a Roy everywhere and he got me using one. He
actually sent me Roy #1 before I left on this trip. They are nice. You can set on any wet or dirty surface any time you
want to. How many scenic overlooks are passed because you have nothing dry to set on? We stayed up till 10:30 p.
m. drinking some “shine” we got on the trail. There are many places to get shine on the trail in Tennessee. Just ask
around and it will appear. Locals are very proud to say they supplied the speak easys with this stuff during
prohibition.
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