67 Miles into the Trail

8 days on the trail has brought me to a town called Hiawassee which is small but has all the amenities a hiker could ask for. Yesterday we showered and had an All You Can Eat (AYCE) chinese buffet. But let me catch up some of the details.
It is strange the transition you go through when taking on a long voyage of this sort with others whom you do not know, yet hold so much in common with. The first days were more about getting through the day with as little pain as possible and getting to the water source. I was still concerned with not letting others know where I was traveling as the AT guide had recommended. However, a few days of rain and close quarters will do wonders in getting to know someone ASAP.
As you will notice by the pictures, there are a few days of complete fog and rain. This was a trying time for everyone but seems to have solidified a group of us into a team. The players are Goof, Bison, Rusty, Mr. Right and Crybaby Spiderman, Jolly Ranger, Weatherguy, hightop and Ian and Kendra (they don't have or want a trail name but will probably get one anyway). I have been dubbed Chef Whiteshoe for my culinary expertise (basically adding dried mushrooms to Ramen noodles) and white shoes I wear in camp.
Unfortunately, I only have a few minutes to finish this part of the blog since my library session is only 1 hour. I have been able to add some photos and thank Matt for posting the shots he took of me on that first day. I will attempt to come back again today to add more about the fine characters I have met and travel with so far. One quick example: Backyard Boogie- a retired truck driver who could tell you everything you would want to know about the trail but didn't know to ask. He did it in '07 with plenty of time (Jan to Oct), plenty of money ($15,000) and plenty of good times. He had sayings like "they will hand you a hamburger the size of a '58 Cadillac hubcap...it's so good you'll want to smack you momma".
Seems I can extend my time. Let me just say the first few days were quite hard and since the weather was so poor the vistas were covered so in a way the days went by quickly. There was not much to see and morale was not very high. It was at the Walasily Hostel and outfitters where morale, hiking bonds and great advise help spurt the following leg. I was able to get a shake down on my pack to see how to reduce weight and also purchase a new bag since the one I had was quite old and not fit for the trip. I listed the places the bag had traveled (Quito, Machu Pichu, Galapagos islands, Cambodia and Thailand) so it could be placed in the rafters to be immortalized with other bags and random hiking materials. I am now down to about 38lbs as opposed to 50lbs at the start of the trip.
The day at the hostel was gave a chance to dry out, clean up and get ready for more. Dinner and breakfast were served by Pirate the in-house keeper who also served bloddy mary's at 8am since it was Sunday. He was quite a trip. Has thru hiked for the past 21 years. Doesn't purify his water. Eats bacon and eggs and "real food, not that hiker crap". Carries a pack of nearly 60lbs. He also looks like a pirate.
When we set off the following day, a dog from the hostel began following us. He arrived at camp but never begged for food, bothered anyone or was in the least way aggressive. Since we thought he was from the hostel, we did not feed him so he would return to his master and home. It was only ofter the second day when someone finally called the hostel that we found out he was not theirs and sadly abandonned on the trail. His rear paws were getting raw in between the pads and beneath his thick winter coat, Bear as we named him, was actually quite skinny. We fed him what we could at that point and hoped he would find his way.
That night at the shelter was miserable. The shelter was so crowded I slept in my hamock so others would have room on the floor, the wind was cold, morale was down ( I did not really talk much that day), and everything was wet.
The following day the sun finally shone through the clouds and all of us were in better spirits. Nothing could have prepared us for the next bit of luck (Luck of the Irish you could say since it was St. Patrick's day) when a huge pick up truck pulled up from the road as we were about to head up the trail. Linda and Dwayne popped out of the truck, unloaded a BBQ and promptly told us to hang on because they were going to have burgers ready in a 1/2 hour. Trail Magic at it's best. We feasted on potato salad, pea salad, brownies, doughnuts, sweet tea and OJ until our bellies were happy. It's incredible the amount of food you can consume while hiking. I am always hungry.
Dwayne and Linda like to do trail magic because they follow the trail journals of the hikers they meet. You can find Bison's trail journal at http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?trailname=8329. He is ex military and very detailed oriented. He also has been planning the AT hike for a long time and has read trail journals for 10years so knows how this story telling takes shape. (Side note: Dwayne took Bear to an animal shelter. Those two really are magic)
This pretty much takes us to to the current news. I am taking a 'Zero day' which means I do not miles on the trail so I can catch up on internet, go food shopping and eat as much as I can. You will hate me for the diet I have which is basically poptarts, candy bars, noodles, rice, chocolate, chips, and anything with a high caloric count. All that fat stuff you avoid is exactly what I go for.
The next town I head into is Franklin which is about 4-5 days aways (50 miles). I am happy to hike with everyone but know I will eventually have to go on ahead. I am finding my hiking legs and eventhough I am the last to leave in the morning, I am usually the first to arrive. Although I have already seen some hiking friends press on and I am about to do the same, I know we will meet up again down the trail.