5/13/99 Uncle Jonny's Nolichucky Hostel   Miles Today : 2+ Miles from Springer : 313+

Well, my ankle was pretty useless today. I woke up, taped it up real tight and had absolutly no luck on the downhills. After just over 2 miles I arrived at Sams Gap, which is a major highway crossing that leads to Erwin, TN. So I became wimpy and hitched down into town. I got to Jonny's with Mark and Brook to find that the hostel had just enough room left.

The story with Uncle Jonny is that he attempted a thru-hike and stopped when he got to Erwin because he loved the area and the people so much. Jonny is a good guy, no questions that he runs this place like a business, but he has been very helpful. The hostel he built is in magnificant shape as well.

The place here is packed for the reason that Trail Days in Damascus starts tomorrow. A whole group of people got in here to get a ride up to the big festival for the weekend. All and all, it doesn't look to be my scene, a whole bunch of hikers packed tent to tent in a few open areas around the town. The people I have met today are WAY too numerous to mention, but I did run into Plum Whistle, Twisted Sister, Mental, Boot and Stretch. I talked to Stretch for a while and it turns out he skipped the section from Sams to here as well, so we are going to try and slackpack the 25 miles from there back to here tommorow. This means I will be leaving most of my pack at Jonny's so even though the miles are long, my ankle should be happy with the weight.

Well, its last ( midnight ) and I need to be up and ready to go tommorow at 8:00 am for my shuttle to Sams Gap. At the risk of breaking something, I AM OPTIMISTIC ABOUT TOMMOROW! All is well tonight, and hopefully the wounds will heal.

-Chomp

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