AT- Dennis Cove, TN to Damascus, VA over New Years

“I thought the mileage was not good for this time of year and this is exactly what I felt would happen.

14-16 mile days require starting in the dark to beat the dark to the next camp during this time of year.
last edited: 1/04/09 8:35:44 AM”

“Oh my achin' everything! I had a great time hiking with old friends and making some new ones.”

“Hey guys got home late Sat. evening. Had car trouble going home, luckily had camping gear and was able to patch it up and make it to auto parts store. Hope the rain wasn't to heavy.”

“it was good seeing you all friday night
glad you all had fun .see you at linville”

“I hate to hear that eagleJ. I didn't think the mileage was all that bad, but some of the days were tougher than I expected. I definitely think you NOBO people had it worse than we did. I just got off the phone with Chin, he finished the section and is on his way home.

I enjoyed the trip. I should have my pics posted later this week. I will be out of town for the next couple of days.”

“32ozgatorade Creek Dancer
trapper mildbill ChinMusic
lomaintenance it was good meeting you”

“Hey JB. I was so surprised to see you at the hostel! Yup, looking forward to Linville next. Gotta dig out my corn chowder recipe.

Sorry to hear of your car trouble eagleJ. Hope you got back in time to visit with your son.

Glad Chin made it out okay. :)”

“Thanks CD, took him to lunch and got to say bye, your the first mom he heard of that went to Philmont.
last edited: 1/04/09 4:47:04 PM”

“Chin made it. Drove to Damascus. Just left Dot's after having a chat wiyh Lonewolf”

“32oz reporting in..

What a freakin awesome 8 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I will have a trip report up by Tuesday night with picts... Camera died from the cold on Jan 2 so the last two days are pict free...

Sticks, milage was good considering the conditions.. Had there been snow and ice on the ground I would agree with you...

We where in the shelters everyday by 2:30 - 3:00 except for day one which reuiquired shuttling... If anything, the plan for Dec 28-31 was too light...

But man what a great 8 days!!!!!!!

It was awesome meeting you all, and new years eve was a blast (especially watching the Mountain Dew Bottle Fall at Midnight!!!!!!!!)

'32oz”

“Oh yeah, It was awesome seeing fridge at MRO on Jan 1... We were hoping that he would show up at the abington shelter kast night..

'32oz”

“So what happened on Saturday night? Chin said something about no one being at the shelter? I didn't get much of the story because he lost phone coverage. Could someone give a update?”

“There was an odd character staying at the shelter (homeless maybe, he had been there for several days - he said he was hiking SOBO from Marion VA to Springer) He had stuff spread out all over the shelter and there wasn't a flat place to tent there so we went half a mile further up the trail to a campsite on the lake (near Griffin Branch). We left a note for Chin on the blue blaze shelter sign but he didn't see it. We waited for him for a while after dark, and then assumed that he had either bailed or set up camp on the trail somewhere. We built a nice size fire and I put my poles in the middle of the trail in case he came by after we went to sleep.”

“Mocs, that was the 'Bob' we were talking about... we ran into him on Jan 1...

We got to the shelter and he seemed pissed that we actually had the nerve to want to camp there..

He was a real POS to Highmaintenance... Although he did seem to lighten up a bit... He gave us the same story.. Marian to GA... He was carrying way too much stuff though to be hiking..

'32oz”

“So when did you guys meet back up with Chin?”

“windi.. there were 2 groups..

Myself, HM, Lightfoot and Creekdancer were heading north from Dennis Cove to Damascus,

Mocs' group was heading south from Damascus to Dennis Cove.. On Jan 2 both groups were at the Iron Mountain Shelter... On Jan 3 Mocs' group headed south and ran into 'Bob' at the Swataga (sp?) Dam Shelter...

"My' group headed north to the Abington Shelter...

'32oz”

“We met up with Chin at Iron Mountain Shelter. The nut surprised me with a huge Diet Coke which I enjoyed for the next couple of days.”

“Just got back from the doctor. They checked out my knee, took some x-rays etc., and they said it doesn't look like I have any tears, but there is some fluid build-up and I have a Baker's Cyst. Never heard of it. They also asked me if I had any tendinitis problems, which I do, and said that could also be part of the problem. I was prescribed some steroids, got a shot in the butt, was told to stay off my feet for a week, and if that didn't help, then I would have to go get an MRI and maybe an operation to remove the cyst.
It sucks getting old.”

“Sorry to hear that wildbill...

It's probably a good thing that you didn't continue on with the second trip... The first day's climb was pretty rugged, and day 2 wasn't a whole lot better....

It was good seeing you again however.. rest the knee and we will hike again sometime...

'32oz”

“I just got home. Stayed in Hazard, KY last night.....Hee Haw. The 700+ mile drive was uneventful.

Thanks for a great trip Mocs!!! It was everything I had hoped for....challenging mileage, challenging terrain, a good "mix" of weather, and got to meet a lot of new friends and a surprise Fridge showing at Abingdon. I especially enjoyed my long chat with Bob Peoples at the end of my hike....what a great guy. I also got to meet Lone Wolf (from White Blaze fame) in Damascus.

Glad I got to know you NOBOs at Kinora as y'all weren't real party animals at Iron Mountain by the time I got there......lol

Got to know "Bob" at Watauga Shelter who I named "Rambo", after his Bowie knife and cammo. I agree with others that his story didn't jive, but I played along. I think I secured my safety with a Diet Coke offering (had a couple cached at the last road crossing).

Rambo was still there when I left on Sunday. I got a decent pic of him at the shelter that I can post later.”

“Glad you got home okay Chin. Thanks again for the Diet Coke. It was a special treat.

I think Rambo might be living at the shelter.”

“Did anyone report this jerk at the shelter to the rangers yet?

Just askin'.”

“Rambo at Watauga Shelter


Close-up of Rambo


Why I didn't have any condensation, I don't know.


Jenga Master


Laurel Falls - weren't those steps south of that amazing?
”

“Nice picture of the falls! Thanks for sharing.”

“I'm surprised RAMBO doesn't have a mailbox by the shelter.”

“I don't believe we need to report him to anyone. He was just an odd guy who was not overly friendly. He didn't do anything wrong to any of us. He had what appeared to be Army type gear. For all we know, he could be a war veteran who just wants to be alone.”

“I agree with Creek Dancer. He was actually friendly with me once I got settled in on the 3rd. At first he seemed kinda surprised that I was staying, like he was unfamiliar with "shelter etiquette". I got there near dusk and wasn't going to move on looking for the gang.

If I were female I would have been moving on, dusk/rain/sleet or not.”

“I have met a lot of strange people on the trail in my life, of course to those who don't backpack, WE are the ones who are strange.”

“wildbill - One of the best lines I remember is:

"There is a fine line between a thru-hiker and a bum."”

“My favorite line from my non-hiking daughter is: "Mom, why do you want to be voluntarily homeless? That's just weird."”

“That shelter looks cozy for a couple of nights but not for weeks on end.

Any reports on how your winter gear held up?”

“A good winter trip was on my agenda for the past several years and this definitely fit the bill. A nice mix of weather from all extremes: cold to hot; wet to dry; sunny to socked in with fog; rain, ice and snow. What more could you ask for in one trip!

The two steep downhill sections, going down to Watauga Dam and the west side of Pond Flats were a great challenge. It is good to see there are proposed reroutes.

I lost five pounds on the trip and one toe nail from the steep downhills. The highlight of the trip was the waterfalls at near the last mile.

Ready to go again.”

“Yeah that guy looks pretty harmless and young...he probably thought that he would be the only idiot out there and all the gear looks new. I have never hiked the AT Great American Freeway and not seen someone.

One of my first times to Mt. Rogers for a January hike I found a guy @ Thomas Knob that I actually checked back on he was so sick from the flu. He was a late SOBO with no tent and shoulder season gear and it was classic Mt. Rogers that weekend.”

“That day I woke up at Kincora, looked out the window and seen the snow, I wanted to cry. It sucked being stuck inside while everyone else was out hiking.”

“Here are my shots from the New Year's Jenga Marathon at Kincora Hostel...

I am still adding titles..

http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/569538108YqAVhP


'32oz”

“My pics are now up:

”

“here are my picts from the North Bound part of the trip..

As you can see from the pictures at the Iron Mountain Shelter, my camera was about to crap out on me, so I didn't get anything from the last two days...

http://good-times.webshots.com/album/569554713jWKVzp

'32oz”

“Nice pics 32oz”