Erwin, TN

5/2
The storm finally came overnight on Wed/Thur. I waited all day at the Hostel for the storm to roll in but the sky was clear, sunny, and beautiful all day. I could have hiked some miles but I'm glad I ended up taking the day off. The storm blew through with a vengeance and I was glad not to have been caught in the woods in my tent. I don't mind rain but these wind/thunder storms are not much fun to sleep thru.

I left out of the Hostel early Thur morning and began the 4 day hike to Erwin. The hiking was fairly easy for this stretch. Only a handful of mountains to climb and I'm getting pretty good at climbing mountains. The highlight of this section was Big Bald. Its a huge hill covered in grass with no trees surrounded by countless mountains. The 360 views were amazing and you could see mountains as far as the horizon in all directions. The trail meandered over the bald, thru a meadow, and over another hill before re-entering the woods... It was a cool spot! Unfortunately, my battery died so I missed the photo op :0(

I could have made it to Erwin on Monday evening but decided to stop 3pm short and setup camp. I walked the final 3 miles out Tue morning and was greeted by the Nolichucky Hostel immediately after leaving the woods. I had planned to skip the Hostel and hitch into town but after adding it up it ended being a better deal to pay $8 for a tent site and hop on the free shuttle. Plus I got a hot shower, which was well over due!
I got some town food in my belly, resupplied trail food for my pack, and settled back into the hostel with my hiker peeps. We just sat around and talked over beers for a few hours before heading to bed.
Tomorrow, it's back to the trek. My next milestone will be Roan Mountain, which I've always wanted to see. I used to pass by it on my way to AL from Appalachian State. I'm looking forward to it...

I've hiked 340mi .... 1841mi to Mt. Katahdin