My phone wouldn't turn on for a few days, but it's working now so I can provide a long update - unfortunately no pictures though. I guess the cold got to it. When I left the bunkhouse in Erwin tuesday morning I noticed I had bumps all over my head. I think there were bugs in those beds because the bumps have been getting better since leaving. Anyways, the weather on tuesday was a mixture of more snow, sleet, rain, and occational sunshine. It never precipitated hard though and the hike was rather enjoyable. There were several stream crossings and I put in a good 25 miles. I ended up camping a half mile away from a Hostel, and thought about staying there to get out of the rain, but decided to stay in the elements now that I have a nice cozy tent. On wednesday I woke up in the clouds, which didn't go away until later that night. The trail went up Roan mountain, one of the higher peaks on the trail at over 6100 feet. The snow had started to melt and the we were either walking through ankle deep mud or small rivers in the trail. It was very frustrating because every step I took I slid half a step back down the mountain. After Roam mountain summit, there is a bald mountain to traverse. When there are no trees to mark, the AT marks rocks on the ground with white blazes. That does little good when there are a few inches of snow on the ground. So the honeymoon hikers (a couple that I hiked with for a while) and I just followed footprints in the snow. About a mile later the footprints just stoped. A guy aroud us noticed that his altimiter said we were about 500 feet too high by that point. Whoops, we had taken the wrong pass and ended up doing about 2 bonus miles that day. In our defense, I talked to several hikers later on who had done the same thing. That night we stayed in an old barn that was converted for hikers to use. It had a great view overlooking a valley, a nice social cooking area, fire pit, and a huge sleeping area upstairs. A guy named Rampage taught me how to identify ramps (which are like wild onions) so I picked a few of those and cooked dinner with them. They are mighty tastey. That night I hung around the fire and talked with the honeymoon couple, Tyvek, rampage, and a couple from new hamphire. I left the barn thursday morning feeling good with a clear sky in view. I picked a few more ramps, cooked breakfast and went off to summit the Roam highlands. The Roan highlands are a series of bald mountains with some spectacular views - probably some of the best so far. Unfortunately, I didn't get to enjoy them for long. Just after I summited the first peak, an ominous black wall of sleet and rain engulfed me with huricane force winds. I've never experienced winds like that. Judging by how it feels when you stick your hand out the car window, i'd say it was sustained 50 mph winds with gusts near 100. I actaully got knocked over a few times. One of those times I fell on my pole, but to the manufactures credit, it only bent slightly and I was able to fix it later on. My pack cover was useless since it kept on flying off seconds after i tried to secure it. I ended up putting it away. My stuff would get wet but at least i wouldnt have a parachute behind me all the time. When the lightning started to strike I decided I had to get off the mountain, but the trail stayed along the ridgeline for a few miles. So, I decided to go off trail and decended the mountain a bit and took selter behind some boulders. It wasn't much shelter, but it was lower elevation and I blocked the wind considerably. I huddled there shivering for about half an hour until the lightning stopped and the rain subsided a bit. Then I decided to make a run for it, or a least go as quickly as the wind would allow. I finally made it back into the forrest and took a beak to recouperate. About an hour later the sky cleared and it turned into a wonderfull day, not counted the persistant mud. I stayed that night at a new shelter right next to a waterfall. It was an awesome place. The shelter was huge too. I slept on the third floor penthouse and spent the evening talking with subway, wrong way, hash brown, and guss. Today (friday) was a beautifull warm day. I had a plrsant hike into Hampton, TN where I am staying at the kinkora hostel. Its a nice place. Only $5 for shower and bunk with a ride to the grocery store. Theres a treehouse to play in and a lot of books lying around. The owner Bob Peoples is a legend on the trail for all he does for hikers. He's been maintain the trail for years and always helps out hikers in various ways. I haven't met him yet but I look foreward to it. In two days I should be in Damascus and enter Virginia.
I just realized I never mentioned I am going by Cricket now. I never really liked the name motor and was hoping something else would come along. Nothing came along so I started going by Cricket, which Amy gave me for eating crickets in vietnam. I have been going by Cricket for about 3 weeks now. There was another Cricket on the trail for a while, but he dropped out so now it's just me.
To my parents and Amy, still no phone signal so sorry about not calling. Sometimes I get wifi which allows me to post.
