Day 23 - Mar 15
I slept okay last night. The wind gusts were probably mid to high 20 mph. I woke up several times to my tent poles / rainfly rattling about wildly against each other. Thankfully I staked everything down well and nothing was going anywhere. Even with this in mind, it is still somewhat nerve racking sleeping in a tent during a storm. When you are in a house, you typically dont worry about your foundation falling apart and part of your house blowing away.
We did not want to get out of our tents this morning. From 7 to 8 we layed in bed, hoping the rain would stop. By 8 we agreed that it was time to get the morning started so we broke down camp and got on road by 9.
The rain was no more than a drizzle at this point but the woods were so wet that the forest was dripping with water. The fog was so wet that we basically were walking through mist..... just another typical morning in the appalachian mountains.
There is a certain pride that comes with bad weather. I don't mean the type of pride that would make me think I'm better than everyone else cause I walk in the rain and bad conditions or whatever. I think this pride more or less fills me excitement and satisfaction, that I am working towards a goal that is larger than a single day or week, rather a culmination of both days and weeks. The harder the journey the more rewarding and meaningful the end will be.
With that said, today was actually so easy. Most of the day was downhill or small ascents. Since we were heading into Erwin, the slope was definetly trending downward.
At 1 we stopped at a shelter named "no business." Although I'm not sure why this shelter called that, I believe it is because it has no privy. Now you know.
By 4 we made it into Erwin and went to a hostel called Uncle Johnny. Here, we got a shuttle into the town and nearby walmart. Walker and I went to a Mexican joint and ordered a burrito called "the big burrito." Sadly it was nowhere big enough, I probably could have had two.
We then went to walmart. I believe every single human being within a radius or 50 miles was in walmart. I've never seen a supercenter so bare. The world really is ending if people keep buying supplies and acting as they are.... my goodness.
After our evening of resupplying our stomachs and our food bags, we decided to hike another 1.6 miles to a creek to avoid paying to stay the night somewhere in town.
By 830 we had everything set up and our route for the next day planned. It will probably rain again tomorrow. Fun fun.
Goodnight,
Tyler M.
Yes, "No Business"! I learned of that shelter a few days ago from the hikers we're following on YouTube that are a few days ahead of you and wondered about the name. As a matter of fact, one of the vlogers remarked about the absence of a privy and expressed curiosity about the shelter name. I never thought of the connection (neither did he).
ReplyDeleteThe Walmart - it is truly amazing what is happening throughout our culture. It will be very interesting what lasting impact will be achieved by all of this. I suspect that it will not all be good. Things will be accepted as normal as the result of this that would not have been possible to impose otherwise.
Grandpa
Tremendous satisfaction must exist in knowing that Walker and you continue to persevere, despite the weather conditions or other obstacles. Knowing that each step brings you closer to a goal that many never accomplish must be a great feeling. You boys have battled snow, slush, ice, rice sides, barred owls, Walker hiking toward Florida,...
ReplyDeleteGlad you could resupply at Walmart. I am guessing that not many people were purchasing the food you were. When hiking foods start disappearing from Walmart, we are then indeed in trouble. You boys didn't buy 50 pounds of food and hoard your supplies as the rest of the world is doing?
You are continuing to make incredible progress!