The great thing about early retirement and subsequent participation in the gig economy is my ability to head out on trips with very little planning. I’d had planned to hike the AT in 2020 as a flip flop thru hiker. I was going to start at Harpers Ferry and leave after the Flip Flop Festival. But COVID ruined all of that.
So as 2020 dragged on, I started getting bored with bicycling. A friend who was a member of my 5 person COVID pod and an avid hiker was laid off, again COVID, so I suggested that we do a section hike from Standing Bear NOBO toward Virginia.
Our trip was amazing. The weather was perfect and this section of the AT along the NC-AT border is beautiful. Add fall leaves for a spectacular hike.
We flew to Knoxville and get shuttled to Standing Bear. The next morning we take off on a fairly short hike to Groundhog Creek shelter. Guthook had a warning that there were aggressive bears I thought, ‘what are the odds?’ Well, it seems they were 100% because 4 bears, two mamas and two cubs terrorized the shelter from 10 PM until 4 AM after taking a stove and pot that two guys, first cousins, left in the shelter picnic table. The other campers took turns standing guard. Honestly I’m not sure what they were guarding but they stayed up all night.
I missed all of it. I have a cochlear implant which I take off at night. I did hear some vague commotion. I thought it was either bears or local teenagers with a case of beer. Figuring there was little I could do in either situation, I put my totally deaf ear up, my other ear against my clothing stuff sack I use for a pillow and went back to sleep. I had a peaceful night and slept soundly.
My friend actually had a bear push its nose into the side of his tent and then growl a bit. This was his first night ever on the AT and second night sleeping in a tent ever. It was quite a transition from day hiker to backpacker. He actually seemed less freaked out about it than I might have guessed. As it turned out, he is a natural for backpacker and could quickly tell the difference between ZPacks and BA as effortlessly as he’d taking to pooping in the woods.
By far, the best features of our trip were the balds where we could see the Southern Appalachians in fall foliage. Stunning beautiful and a totally new thing for my friend who lived his entire life in Texas and Arizona. In reality even his prior experiences of fog were limited. He loved it all and I, despite now living in Arizona for 16 years, felt entirely at home in the Eastern Forest. I am a native of Pennsylvania.
We stayed in 3 hostels – Laurel Road owned by Timmy Two Toke, Uncle Johnny’s in Erwin, and The Station at 19E in Roan Mountain, TN. The people at Station at 19E are totally about the hiker. They are super nice. The same can be said of Uncle Johnny’s. Timmy Two Toake’s was, well, colorful with signs like “trespassers will be shy and survivors will be shot twice.” For me, I thought that Timmy was very friendly and had a well stocked kitchen that, like most hostels, worked on the honor system. It was a very basic AT hostel at a very reasonable price.
Our trip was a big success. Loren had some knee issues but we went slowly and took an extra zero or two. I discovered that adding Slap Yo Mama Cajun spices to most anything made it better. I reignited my love for Top Ramen, Pop Tarts, and reverted to my morning ritual of downing rocket fuel (2 packs of Breakfast Essentials, formerly known as Carnation Instant Breakfast, plus two pack sets of Starbucks Via or the Dollar Store equivalent). I still love life on the trail and feel content and fully at home in a tent. Some part of me, deep in the core of every cell, thrives on the trail in a way it just can’t anywhere else. I was born for this. It brings me peace. Plus I get to wear stinky clothes for days in a row which pleases my inner teenager to no end.
Tripping Along The Trail 