Hey gang! Just wanted to check in after a long and restful few days in Erwin, Tennessee hanging at the most popular hiker spot in town: Uncle Johnny's hostel.
We arrived ahead of schedule and figured we would spend a day or two riding bikes around town and reorganizing our lives (aka: backpacks!) while we waited for Jordan's fun little brother and a bunch of friends to meet up with us on Saturday.
The weather was perfectly delivered for our off-days, 75 and sunny! Definitely a little warm for hiking, but absolutely fabulous for eating ice cream and sitting in lawn chairs going over our schedule and reading...which is precisely what we did! We also got to spend some time with some of our favorite Trail buddies who were also staying at the hostel: Bogey, Slim, Bahama Dave, Shutterbug, Hot Wheels, Corley, Crocs, and Potter! They were super supportive when a reporter from the Erwin Record, a local newspaper, came to take some pictures and get our story. Thanks for taking the time Bailey!
Once the Atlanta gang arrived, it was nothing but smiles and great conversation as we headed to hiker's paradise, WAL-MART, to stock up on some goodies for our very own trail magic! We hit the shelter hard that night rolling in with cookies, chips, candy, and more hot dogs than would be advisable to consume in any given night...but of course we valiantly finished them off over a killer campfire with the help of our shelter-mates that night: Toze, Grasshopper, Orange Dust, and Greenwood! Not to mention our awesome Atlanta-ers: Austin, Nate, Chad, Justin, Daniel and the fluffiest one of them all...Wiley Dog! It was great to see everyone and we can't wait for another visit! Friends and family rock!
That's all to report for now...but we will definitely check in again soon! Our next stop is Hampton, TN...which also happens to be our very last stop entirely in Tennessee. We are headed on to see what Virginia holds for us. You guys keep your fingers crossed for sunny skies and friendly terrain and we will keep our fingers crossed to see some of you out there on the Trail!
P.S.- we hit our one month Trail anniversary this week! Woo-Hoo! Send cookies! :)
2 comments:
Hello folks! I am Elizabeth McPherson (Bandakwe when I thru-hiked the trail in '03.) The Elizabethton Chamber of Commerce wanted me to try to hook up with you and talk to you a little about your mission and ours to try to "clean this place up!" We understand you'll be coming through Hampton on the 28th. Still true? Please let me know if we can get together emcpherson@mer-inc.com.
Hi there! My students were very excited when they found your blog today. They are tracking your trek against trash. A great topic for Earth Day! They were very excited about the snow and disappointed it wasn't snowing here. It sounds like ya'll are having a great time and we look forward to reading more blogs.
Happy Hiking,
Amie Gravitt and class
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