Smokestack's Adventure 2007
Smokestack’s 2007 Appalachian Trail Report
March 17 to March 23, 2007
March 24 to April 3, 2007
April 4 to April 11, 2007
April 19 to April 27, 2007
April 28 to May 17, 2007
May 18 to June 3, 2007
June 3, 2007 to July 2
July 13, 2007 Update
July 20, 2007 End of the trail for now
March 17 to March 23, 2007
Getting ready for “Day One” of an Appalachian Trail Thru-hike is very much like Christmas shopping.
With months of advance notice there should be ample time to plan every contingency. But you can’t
predict how you will feel. I developed a severe case of bronchitis three weeks before the hike and it
would kick my butt sideways right up to the start date. Pete started sniffling a couple of days before we headed out.
Our start date slid around a bit and settled on Saturday, March 17, 2007. A dear friend, "Campout"
and his friends from the Cherokee Hiking Club had scheduled a 30-mile backpacking trip from Springer
Mountain to the parking lot at the base of Blood Mountain for St. Patrick’s Day weekend. They graciously
included us in their shuttle to Springer Mountain where we took a picture of Smokestack near the first
northbound white blaze on the Appalachian Trail.
Another dear friend, Stumpknocker, a 5-time AT
thruhiker met us in the parking lot for the send off dressed as usual in a light jacket and shorts despite
the bitter 20-degree morning and howling winds.
The fresh air perked me up and I was feeling better. There was no way I could miss out on the beginning
of this great adventure so I saddled up my backpack and headed out with Smokestack. Our original plan
was for me to hike about two weeks with him to Winding Stair Gap near Franklin, NC.
We set a blistering pace that would let a turtle out run us. There was no reason to rush. We planned to go
shelter to shelter through Georgia keeping to 7-10 miles a day.
Sunday morning was the coldest day this winter and here we were sleeping on the ground near the
Hawk Mountain Shelter. Those campers who left their water bottles outside their tent overnight discovered
everything had frozen up. Thankfully the temperatures warmed over the next 3 days and it was perfect
winter hiking weather.
We arrived at the base of Blood Mountain at Mountain Crossings (Neels Gap) around lunchtime on
Tuesday March 20. Smokestack’s sniffles had worsened and he had been coughing fitfully for the last two
days and nights. He had been unable to eat supper the night before and refused breakfast on Tuesday morning.
My knees were beginning to squeak and groan. We decided it was best to return home to rest for a couple of
days. The next morning I realized that I had accomplished what I set out to do. The bronchitis had really
fatigued me and I didn’t need to press my luck with my back or knees.
After two days rest at home I drove Smokestack back to Neels Gap. He was so excited to get started.
As I watched him walk away I realized that this adventure would be a new experience for both of us.
We have started a new story line in our lives independent of one another. Our story lines will cross
throughout the next six months ending with a big hug and a trek together up Katahdin in Maine.
Mr. Excitement will call every couple of days and I will create a story of his journey to pass along
to anyone interested.
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March 24 to April 3, 2007
Smokestack is now down range of home. The hike is progressing slowly but steadily as he still feels a
little drained from the bronchitis and the weather has been extraordinarily warm. The pollen count in Georgia
this year has been mind-boggling. We haven’t met a hiker who hasn’t been singing the
sniffling sneezy runny-eyed blues.
He managed to knock out Georgia and has now crossed his first state border.
As I did his laundry on his last trip home I was reminded of a mother dog sniffing the unique scent
of her newborn pup to gain an everlasting reminder of her loved one. Carrying that load down the
stairs will stay with me for a while!
He was expecting terrible thunderstorms last night near Standing Indian (NC). The heavy rains should help
clear the pollen from the air. Although not a fan of crowded shelters filled with stinky hikers and sneaky mice
he says he plans to stay in the Standing Indian Shelter last night. It makes a much nicer morning to pack a
dry tent than a wet tent that has gained about 5 lbs of water.
The one thing that has bothered him is meeting people he would enjoy getting to know better but falling behind
them in their journey because of his illness. He knows that he will meet many more interesting people and still
yet might run into the early hikers again.
Folks I have desperately tried to get some fresh and new information about the progress of his hike. Although he
calls just about every night our conversations on the cell phone last two minutes and one of them is spent telling
me he has to go to save battery life.
I am working on a plan to milk news out of him but I think in the end it is going to require a great deal
of imagination on my part.
We spent last weekend together in Franklin, NC at the 2nd Annual April Fool’s Bash. The fledgling gathering
is held in the parking lot of the Sapphire Inn by the owner and trail angel legend Ronnie Haven.
We were treated to a knee-slapping toe tapping good time with a real country band. A small donation
provided all three meals hot off the grill. We bunny hopped and sang along to country classics performed sadly by
off key musicians having the time of their lives. The mornings and afternoons were spent chatting with trail veterans
and new hopeful hikers.
Since I can’t tell you anything about Smokestack except the fact that he is alive and well let me tell you about
Ronnie Haven. Years ago in another life, Ronnie was a WWF Wrestler with some crazy stage name. In real
life he is a gentle giant of a man still making a name in quite different circles.
We met Ronnie on the top of Albert Mountain last year at a hiker feed on a dirt road that paralleled the AT.
Ronnie entertained us by the glowing firelight picking his guitar and singing. Ronnie was born in Canada and
now settled in Franklin, NC where he owns among many things two small motels called the Haven’s Budget Inn
and the Sapphire Inn. Somewhere along the line he has found a deep love for the Appalachian Mountains and
an even deeper need to help aspiring hikers.
Franklin, NC is a necessary resupply point for thruhikers but it is about 10 miles from the trail. Getting to town
is a real challenge and once there everything is sprawled out for miles. Ronnie learned about the difficulties hikers
were having getting into and around town so he started doing daily hiker shuttles using among other
things a stretch limo.
This year he purchased a used school bus and had it painted to indicate it was a hiker shuttle service. During the
three or four months in the spring prime hiking season Ronnie sits just about all day behind the wheel of the little yellow
bus in his stately style; a white t-shirt, dress pants and black leather shoes.
I challenge you to find a more sincere or giving human being. A man of few words; those he does speak are powerful…
Can I help? Is there anything you need?
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April 4 to April 11, 2007
A thru hiker’s morning starts in that murky moment between night and day just before you can see your
hands in the first rays of daylight. After a few days on the trail packing up in the dark becomes second nature.
Morning routines are necessary to avoid leaving gear behind and to get started safely and swiftly. Smokestack’s
morning routine is set in stone… not fog, nor rain nor howling wind… gets in his way!
His eyes pop open and he gropes in the predawn light to find his clothes and quickly dresses.
Dressing quickly gets you away from the smell faster and in winter slipping off a warm sleeping shirt
and slapping on a damp cold one is very invigorating. Unzipping the tent he slowly stands upright and
in a seamless motion reaches into his pocket for his tobacco pouch and lights his first pipe load of the day.
Puffing merrily along he heads to the tree where his food has been hanging from prowling creatures of the night.
The roar of the pressurized camp stove is the only noise and indicates that water will soon be boiling for his first
cup of coffee. Other colorless stick figures are seen in the muted light scurrying around. Tents are quietly
dropping; packs are being stuffed and breakfasts consumed while sitting huddled on the front of the shelter.
There is little if any conversation as if no one wants to be the first to break open the new day.
Smokestack stands serenely on the sidelines observing the muted chaos seemingly without a care in the world.
When his mug is empty he refills it with oatmeal and returns to his observation post. His second cup of coffee is
usually lumpy as it serves to clean the cup of any remaining oatmeal. Then and only then does he pack up his gear
and drop the tent.
He has been making his way on foot from Dicks Creek Gap near Hiawassee, GA to Winding Stair Gap
and the next resupply town of Franklin, NC. His phone call to me around noon from Franklin on Thursday
April 5 begins with the statement; “I packed up quickly this morning and had my first cup of coffee when
I got to town.” I was left speechless for two reasons. I have never seen him move quickly in the morning
and I knew it was a 9-mile walk from his campsite to the road to town. When I asked what prompted this
deviation from the norm he said loudly, “It was COLD and I could taste the mushroom swiss burger!”
The extraordinary cold weather in the Deep South that killed this year’s budding peach, apple and blueberry
crops also cleared the woods of thruhikers. Emerging from his warm motel room in the morning, Smokestack
found snow in the parking lot. Local weather experts predicted subzero temperatures and six inches of snow
in the mountains over the next couple of days. He decided to stay put. As he walked back from his Hardee’s
breakfast an empty yellow school bus pulled up near him and the door popped open. Ronnie Haven told him to
hop in. It was going to be a long day as he was getting emergency shuttle calls on his cell phone and he could
use the company. The two of them drove up and over the mountains all day retrieving frozen hikers from every
obscure back road trail crossing. They filled four motels by nightfall.
The last time Smokestack called from the woods I managed to say before the sands in his two-minute egg
timer ran out that I needed information to pass along to people. I gave him the task of remembering one
thing from each day he considered worthy of preserving in print.
Here was his Easter Sunday nugget. He is hiking with two hikers with the same trail name of Hang Man.
Coincidence… not by design. The younger of the two received his name from his occupation as a member
of a bizarre carnival where he is suspended in the air by fish hooks embedded in his skin. I asked if he saw
any perforations in the guy and he said he didn’t see any and wasn’t going to ask either.
God I hope the other Hang Man earned his name because he is a paperhanger.
Smokestack dropped into the Nantahala Outdoor Center for a hot meal and a porcelain pony break.
(An old friend has been quoted as saying that a hiker should never pass up the chance to “ride” a porcelain pony.
You can only stomach outhouses so long.)
Pete returned home on April 13 after reaching Fontana Village, NC. He has walked 163 miles thus far.
I was scheduled for extensive medical tests in Gainesville on Monday April 15 and he needed to be available
should anything nasty show up. Nothing major was found but I couldn’t drive for 48 hours so he had to hang
around the house. I took advantage of his homecoming and put him to work repairing the downspout that blew
off the house in the recent bad storms. He returns to the trail at Fontana Village today.
Tomorrow he will begin his ascent into the famous Smokey Mountain National Park. I am sure that he will have
some stories to tell from other hikers who recently traveled through that area. While Pete was home several feet
of snow fell in the Smokey Mountains, winds exceeding 40-50 miles per hour howled for several days and the
temperatures hovered around 15-20 degrees. One hiker, Jett James, reports that he has been stuck in
Gatlinburg for days because the road back to New Found Gap is still closed. Jett knows of one hiker
that has suffered frostbite while hiking in the severe weather.
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April 19 to April 27, 2007
Most hikers use Appalachian Trail guidebooks for locating off trail lodging and resupply locations. The more popular
guidebooks are revised annually using information gleaned from the previous year’s hikers and from volunteer
field editors. Even with the most up-to-date guidebooks unexpected changes do occur.
Fontana Village Resort, privately owned, was recently sold and new management is remodeling and
upgrading facilities within the “village”. This resupply location, the last before entering the Smoky Mountains,
has a post office and a laundry. A small outfitter can help with fuel and some gear problems. A small grocery
offers hiker usable foods at exorbitant prices. Seasoned AT hikers are familiar with the amenities within this
private village and look forward to the all-you-can-eat buffet and the $29 rooms.
Smokestack was chopping at the bit to get back to the trail at Fontana. When he did return he wanted to
get an early morning start so we decided to drive up to Fontana Village the night before and stay at the lodge.
We would have breakfast together in the morning and he could head out early.
We stopped at the Back Country Permit Station to obtain his Smoky Mountain Hiking Permit on the way to
Fontana Village. All backpackers traveling in the Smoky Mountains must obtain a permit. Hiker Police mean
business and can fine hikers up to $5000 if found to be in the park without a permit. Thruhikers, unlike overnight
or section hikers, aren’t required to reserve places in specific park shelters. They must however stay in a shelter
unless filled to capacity and even then they must camp nearby. A thruhiker is defined as someone traveling at least
50 miles south and north of the park. The permit is dated and allows seven consecutive nights and eight days to
transit the park.
When we entered the lodge in 2004 the lobby area was bustling with hiker chatter so we expected to find the
same this time. The lobby was quiet and not a soul in sight anywhere. The next surprise was learning the discounted
hiker rate had been upgraded along with the room. The new “hiker discount price” is $66.
The larger sticker shock came when we went to dinner in the dining room as we were greeted by a “maitre-dee”.
Fancy white table clothes and fine china sat in place of the steam tables and heaps of overcooked buffet food.
We were handed a leather-bound menu with prices measured on the Richter scale. We decided to share a $5.00
appetizer of fried green tomatoes expecting a plate full of goodies. We stared in disbelief when the waitress
handed us a small plate containing 3 breaded tomato slices.
The resort doesn’t really get into full swing until after Memorial Day. There were few guests outside the hiker
community in the dining room. I regret not getting my camera to capture the contrast between prickly-faced guests
with colorful bandanas tied pirate style on their heads and the elegant table settings. Most were moaning at the hit
to their wallets and the small dent these delicate culinary creations were making in filling a starving hiker stomach.
After breakfast I drove Smokestack back to the permit station to resume his journey.
Three older hikers, “Wishbone, Gray Turtle and Robo”, soon joined Smokestack at the Permit Station. He tells
me that he finally used his camera! He captured their smiling faces at the trailhead to Shuckstack Mountain.
He reports that he really wanted to take the contrasting shot at the summit but didn’t have the nerve to take out
the camera. Guess they started out with “gust”-o and ended up dis-“gusted”. Believe me, I know.
It is a stinker climb!
Robo, Wishbone, Gray Turtle along with Rooster, Eric and Onka, Gingersnap, August and Orange Moon
hopscotched with Smokestack throughout the Smoky Mountain National Park. Smokestack had a little
knee problem after climbing Shuckstack but took it easy for a couple of days and things have much improved.
He completed the Smoky Mountains in 6 days and has arrived at Standing Bear Hostel near I-40 in Tennessee
having now hiked a total of 236 trail miles.
The shelters in the Smokys are pretty conveniently positioned and a hiker often finds one around lunchtime.
It is nice to be able to sit at a picnic table to eat. One nice sunny day he arrived at a shelter for lunch and found
several section hikers heading out to go home. They gave Smokestack and other lunch mates their leftover
fresh bread, salami and cheese. There is nothing better to a starving hiker than food you didn’t have to carry!
One day a hiker passing by offered him a Guinness beer! That’s true trail magic.
He particularly wanted me to include his day at Double Spring Shelter in this hike update so here it is as told to me…
“I arrived at lunchtime and sat down on the edge of the shelter to remove my pack. Suddenly a loud metallic
banging noise started in the woods accompanied by human moaning and groaning. Investigating I discovered
a small trail crew doing the necessary but dirty job of privy maintenance.”
The new privies along the AT are large airy bins with two separate compartments. When one side gets full it is
covered for a period of time to allow nature to decompose and make compost of the contents. The entire “throne”
is designed to slide from side to side over the bins.
“The crew chief told me they were trying to cover the filled bin and move the “throne” over the now cleaned
and empty compartment. But it wouldn’t budge. I offered my help and it finally shifted sides. The work crew
gathered up their tools and headed home leaving me alone in the shelter on a pretty afternoon. I decided to
call it an early day and put my gear in the shelter to mark my space.”
And yes… he wanted everyone to know he got to be the first to express his “gratitude” for the clean privy.
Cell phone reception in the Smokys was very limited. Our conversations were true Verizon moments. Countless
times I could hear his speaking but he couldn’t hear me. We would be talking along and suddenly I heard, “Can
you hear me now? Hello???? Hang up I’ll climb higher and call you back”. Sometimes the signal weakened and
we heard about every third word. We tried to connect daily but often several days go by before he could
find a signal.
He says that the wildflowers are spectacular again this year. The recent hard freeze didn’t kill everything.
In particular the woods are filled with the tiny slightly pink “spring beauties”. Whole hillsides appear covered
in snow. The true botanical genius also reports seeing a lot of yellow flowers.
In the past we found the trail leaving Georgia to be extremely rough, eroded and covered with downed trees
that obviously had been fallen over a long period of time. Smokestack was pleased to note that the trail in
North Carolina and Tennessee from the Georgia border to Standing Bear Farm Hostel shows many long
volunteer work hours and has been greatly improved. Recent high winds caused hundreds of newly downed
trees across the trail. Work crews have already cleared nearly all of them. The trail bed has been destroyed in
places and will need to be moved or rebuilt.
In 2004 we met a wild boar hunter in the Smokys and Smokestack ran into a boar hunter again this year.
The hunter was out looking for evidence that the boars have become active. He reports things are still quiet.
Wild boars are capable of reproducing at six months of age and can produce up to 6 young each time!
Mature boars replete with mean dispositions and meaner tusks can grow to enormous size. Somewhere
in his journey, Smokestack observed a bear’s head and a boar’s head mounted side by side on a wall.
Might have been the Fontana Village Lodge. He was shocked to see that the boar’s head was larger than a
mature bear’s head! Wild boars are not native to the area and pose a serious overpopulation problem.
The boar hunters, hired by the Feds, prowl the wild at night. Any killed boars are left as food for
scavenging animals.
Our wandering hero has decided to spend a second night at the Standing Bear Farm in Tennessee.
He’ll hit the trail and head toward Hot Springs, NC tomorrow. The Appalachian Trail will wander
east and west through the mountains along the North Carolina and Tennessee borders for the next 200+ miles.
And this is why these mountains are called the "Smokies"
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April 28 to May 17, 2007
Smokestack returned to the trail all clean and shiny after spending two wonderful days at the restful Standing
Bear Farm. He planned to camp, if possible, on top of Max Patch, a bald grass covered mountaintop with
spectacular 360° views. It is a beautiful spot with an ornery disposition. The winds are known to howl
across the summit making walking let alone camping a challenge.
On that journey to Max Patch he met two happy go-lucky women out on a day hike. They treated him to
cookies and serenaded him in two-part harmony to Happy Trails To You. It turns out the two women are
known as the Singing Sisters. It also turns out that Smokestack and I met one of these women at the last
ALDHA Gathering in Pipestem, WV. She was seated next to us at dinner with her husband, Mr. Blister.
He was amazed how many times you can run into someone you know deep in the middle of nowhere!
A few miles further up the trail Smokestack entered Brown’s Gap (TN) and was surprised to find Georgia
AT Club member Franklin “Ox” LaFond! Ox had set up shop with a buffet of hiker treats. Smokestack
was quick to tell me he wolfed down a cheeseburger as an appetizer. We both had last seen Ox in Franklin,
NC at the April Fool’s Bash. After running into Ox, Smokestack’s plan to camp on Max Patch was changed.
He dropped anchor around the grill for the evening.
The next trail town in his journey was Hot Springs, NC where the trail goes right down Main Street.
He pulled a “Nero” which means he slid into town after hiking half a day and headed back out bright
and early the next morning. He bought food and supplies, showered and got to sleep in a real bed.
The weather has been brutally cold and occasionally wet. The hike is going well however.
He says he really hasn’t found a group of thruhikers that match his speed so the neighbors change every day.
One fellow that has passed his way several times deserves a little attention. Bubba.
Bubba, if you would believe him, is an inventor and prophet. I bet the good folks in Georgia would be
surprised to learn that Bubba was the genius behind the Hope Scholarship program! If that were not
enough notoriety, Bubba invented face cream! He doesn’t understand why the government hasn’t figured
out that the way to stop violent hurricanes from striking the United States is to fly planes around and around
inside the storm in reverse direction to the winds to defuse the storm. Bubba says his purpose in attempting
a thruhike is to lose weight.
Now… Smokestack definitely believes that everyone should have the right to be as crazy as a loon as long as
they are happy… but in this case he couldn’t resist the urge to uncharacteristically ask Bubba, “Do you REALLY
believe half the stuff that comes out of your mouth?”
Cell service continues to be very erratic. Calls drop out over and over. I remember one phone conversation
where we tried to discuss where he wanted me to come for a visit. It took seven attempts to complete a
sentence “do you want me to come to Atkins” and to get an answer. The last attempt I burst out laughing.
The phone rang, I said, “Hello”. A loud YES burst out of the phone and it went dead. It has been comforting
to get static and a few fractured words to let me know he was fine and all was well.
Since we haven’t been able to share much information I will pass along what I know highlighting his travel stops.
On May 5 he crossed the Nolichucky River on the Chestoa Bridge and entered Erwin, TN having walked
338.9 miles. Erwin is the hometown to the Erwin Burrito, Uncle Johnny’s, and Miss Janet’s Hostel. It was
a popular frontier stop for Davy Crockett and a young Andrew Johnson just to toss a little history into the mix.
May 11 he strolled up Dennis Cove Road to the Kincora Hostel in Hampton, TN. Bob and Pat People’s
have opened their log home to hikers for years and a favorite stop on the journey.
Smokestack has now completed NC and TN. He crossed the border into Virginia on May 15 having
completed 459 miles. He arrived in Damascus, VA three days before the annual Trail Days Festival. He
recognized several trail friends milling around town but overall things were still pretty quiet... just the way he
likes it. Lone Wolf met up with him on the sidewalk. After taking a good look at Smokestack said “Man, you
need a good meal.” I have no doubt he looks like a sack of bones. I could see his ribs when he came
home from Fontana.
It didn’t take much arm-twisting to get him to take a full day off. He learned Circuit Rider and Sherlock were
holding a church service at the local church and headed that way. Said he really enjoyed the service and the
Circuit Rider was very good.
He was true to his word and escaped Damascus before the crowd arrived. He must have looked like the rogue
lemming heading the wrong way to the piper’s pipe.
He has been hiking the last few days with 2 hikers also named Pete. Much to his surprise he met up with one
of the other Pete’s on the trail after leaving Damascus. As far as he knows they are the only two hikers actually
walking at the moment. He referred to the two of them as Pete and Re-Pete. He had better watch out. If they
continue as hiking partners the name may stick.
I leave next Tuesday, May 22 to join him for the day at Atkins, VA. I have already told him that he must
shower and put on clean clothes before he gets a hug and a kiss. He mailed home his fleece hat, heavier fleece
jacket, wool gloves and his long underwear. The mailman delivered the box to the house laying it on the concrete
slab by the front door. I braced myself. When I opened the flaps it smelled like the clothes had been stored
underground in Tut’s tomb.
Allow me to insert a personal small world story, which brings this update full circle.
Last Tuesday I walked with several adults and a group of students on the AT between Dick’s Creek Gap
and Blue Ridge Gap. Since my new fast hiking speed is my old slow I was pulling tail end Charlie. Two
backpacking women walking southbound on the AT crossed the road in Blue Ridge Gap.
They glanced back at the crowd standing in the road and asked how far the group was going. I told them the
students were walking down this road and ending their hike but I was continuing on with two of the adults to
remove two trees further northbound.
The women joined arms and one of them said, “A Trail Maintainer! We must sing for you!” If you have been
paying attention and remember how this story started you will guess the song and the songsters. It was the
Singing Sisters and the song was Happy Trails.
One of the Sisters locked eyes with me the whole time they were singing. The instant the song ended she
reached out and grabbed me into a bear hug saying, “I know you! You are Mother Nature! Your husband is
Smokestack!” I blurted, “Who are you!” She looked familiar to me and as soon as she told me I remembered.
The two women were now doing a section hike of the AT in Georgia and North Carolina. The Singing Sisters
remembered meeting Smokestack a couple of weeks ago while day hiking on the trail in Tennessee and
giving him cookies.
Isn’t it amazing how often this kind of meeting occurs!
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May 18 to June 03, 2007
Trail Days 2007 in Damascus is now over and several friends not currently thruhiking the trail decided to take
a short southbound hike on the AT in Virginia before returning to their homes. Shortcut in her phone call
told me their journey would begin on May 21 at the Partnership Shelter. They hoped to meet up with
Smokestack if he had not already passed that spot. I told her that I was meeting him on May 22, which
meant that he would actually be staying at the Partnership Shelter on the same evening! Chief was tickled
and planned a big trail magic surprise for him, which included some fried chicken and bourbon.
I couldn’t wait to hear about the night at Partnership Shelter from Smokestack. Evenings always get interesting
when Chief and Christmas are around.
The morning of May 22 I headed north to Exit 54 on I-81. The AT actually crosses I-81 at that point on a bridge.
The trail drops down out of the woods onto a small local road in front of the Relax Inn Motel in Rural Retreat,
VA. I really got a kick out of the name of the little ink spot on the map. Rural Retreat… wonder how that ever
came to be?
The Relax Inn is a remnant of the old motor lodge era. An abandoned restaurant sits in front rotting away,
a victim of a recent unexplained fire. Tall grass and weeds surround the motel, tucked behind the blackened
shell. Only a thruhiker glancing at this festering boil would know that the place is actually open for business.
I chuckled as the only visible signs of life appeared in front of Room 108. Smokestack’s pack and boots were
leaning against the peeling wall. I had barely come to a stop before the door opened and a grinning hiker popped
out. As I ran to give him a hug he proudly announced that he had already showered and put on clean clothes as
ordered. I noticed his hair was still wet so he must have just arrived ahead of me. I saw in his face that he had
lost a lot of weight but it wasn’t until bedtime that I saw the skeletal remains of my husband.
The room was hot, stuffy, and moldy smelling so we turned on the air conditioner hoping that cooling the
air would improve things. We dragged a couple of cheap chairs outside. Since the sky looked threatening
we stayed under the motel overhang. Smokestack lit up his pipe and we caught up on news.
I waited as long as my nerves could stand it for him to mention the events of the previous evening. I asked if he
had any special treats at Partnership. Mr. Excitement acted as if friends showed up every night with booze and
food. Actually he was very pleased to see them and said he had a good time with Christmas, Chief and Shortcut.
I have to remember that Smokestack doesn’t get as animated as I do about things.
It started to rain gently. Hikers appeared from the wet underbrush throughout the afternoon. Most motels near
the AT will accept UPS and Postal resupply boxes and care packages for those hikers staying as guests.
Those hikers who are planning to resupply elsewhere continue straight ahead without stopping. Others wanting
a laundry, shower and resupply headed to the lonesome motel for the night.
Most of those arriving yesterday afternoon were content to leave at the crack of dawn. A few took the next
day off as well. In hiker parlance some just neroed and some neroed and zeroed.
We scouted out restaurants in nearby Marion, VA and brought Flax Seed and Worm to resupply at the local
grocery. As we walked the aisles of the grocery my “Mother Nature” mode kicked into overdrive and we
chatted about nutrition. I introduced him to V-8 juice, which has twice the potassium of a banana in an 8 oz
serving. I told him that as his “Mother” I expected him to drink a can of this in every town and gas station he
passed to get his vegetable fix.
In days of yore mini-bagels ruled his lunch and attempts to introduce him to tortillas as variety or an alternative
were fruitless. I was stunned as he reeled in a package of tortillas saying he has switched from bagels because
they travel better. Duh! He still needed a knock up side of the head because he had chosen fat-free. Mr. No-Butt
needs the fat! Believe me he got an instant lesson in label reading.
The Relax Inn does provide a coin-operated laundry, which gets heavy use during hiker season. One of the men
folding clothes seemed familiar but I couldn’t put a name to him. It was Gray Turtle who I first met at Fontana
Village Resort. I didn’t recognize him; like Smokestack, he has lost his belly. In Turtle’s own
words, “I lost my shell.”
If you leave your motel door open, it is a sign that guests are welcome to visit. There seemed to be fewer hikers
milling around than in previous visits to the Relax Inn.
Flax Seed, a very spry 70, is a tiny little Oriental gentleman with a sweet smile and a high-pitched giggle. Born in
Taiwan, he moved to the US in the 70s and recently retired after a career as a physician. His hike has been going
well but he has had to adapt as he has managed somehow to break both his dentures and his eyeglasses.
Flax Seed strolled into our room via the open door carrying a big bag of wasabi peas his wife has sent him. Without
dentures he can’t eat them. He had worked his way along the motel hallway until he finally found someone willing
to take them. It wasn’t me. I think it was Gray Turtle.
With everyone’s chores completed Flax Seed, Gray Turtle and Leatherneck floated in and out of our room
throughout the day. Later in the afternoon a tall friendly fellow dropped out of the woods and after registering
headed down the hall way to his room. Passing our room he recognized Smokestack and stopped for a chat. He
was introduced to me as Red’s Man emphasizing not Redman. His wife is Red and he was told he was going to hike
as “Red’s Man”. Smart man; didn’t argue.
He told us he had just come from the Partnership Shelter. His night before that at the Trimpi Shelter was “something else”
as a couple of “yahoos” drove him crazy. He said these guys were so gassed up they only hiked three miles the
day before. I jokingly said, “Sounds like Chief and Christmas!” He whipped around and said, “YES! Do you
know them?” When I asked what it was they did to get him annoyed he said “Well... they weren’t really THAT
bad but they were constantly bickering and bad mouthing each other.”
Remember Red’s Man. He will play an important part in another twilight zone moment later to come.
Leatherneck, a retired Marine, and Flax Seed joined us for an evening meal at an Italian Restaurant.
Smokestack became intrigued with the itzy teeny reading glasses carried by Leatherneck in a small round case.
It seems that he too had broken his prescription reading glasses and replaced them with a pair of cheap
drugstore magnifier lens.
We zipped into a nearby Walmart and picked up a pair for Smokestack. He decided to send home his reading
glasses and their heavy carrying case. I stifled a laugh as Flax, Leatherneck and Smokestack put on their
microscopic glasses to consult the guidebook for the next leg of their journey. Wish I had my camera handy.
Reminded me of the three blind mice.
My brief visit ended the next morning after a hot breakfast at the local truck stop. It broke my heart to drive
away. I headed south and looking back in the rearview mirror I saw Smokestack saddle up and head north.
Next trail town for him will be Pearisburg, VA in about 5 days.
Smokestack didn’t have much to say over the next few days. Our cell reception was particularly bad. About the
only thing I learned was that Nice Enough was leaving little hearts next to her messages in the shelter journals for
Torpedo hoping he would catch her on the trail. We decided to have a lengthy call once he got to town
He did walk into Pearisburg on May 29th having walked over 622 miles. Still walking alone. Thus far he hasn’t
found a hiking partner. Still doesn’t care if he finds one.
I have been sincerely concerned about the weight loss, as I know that he has some serious hiking left ahead of
him. His marching orders when he left the Relax Inn were to eat like a pig whenever you get to a town or convenience
store and buy nutritious calorie dense food for resupply.
He settled into a motel in Pearisburg and did his “chores”. He strung his tent and gear around the room to dry.
Changed into “town clothes” and hit the laundromat. He headed out to eat after he had a long hot shower.
When he called the first words out of his mouth were, “ I had two double bacon swiss burgers and a large fry as
soon as I got to town. I passed a convenience store and bought a V-8. I saved the bottle and filled it with olive
oil to take back on the trail. I am thinking about taking tomorrow off. Not hiking. You know… to
eat some more.”
He did take the next day off and according to him he spent the day eating his way down the street.
He started with a giant breakfast bowl and two large cinnamon buns and a quart of milk.
He grazed off AYCE (all-you-can-eat) Chinese buffet for lunch and headed to the Dairy Queen
for a banana split for dessert.
Now here’s where it gets like the Twilight Zone.
Red’s Man and Smokestack had met up somewhere between the egg rolls and the banana split. Smokestack
heads over to the Dairy Queen while Red does his own thing. A lady walks up to Red recognizing him as a long
distance hiker and asks how his hike is going. She is a past AT thruhiker and aware that the AT is nearby. The lady
is actually on a huge journey herself. She is currently walking from Alabama to New York on the Great Eastern Trail,
which shares footpath with the AT for a short distance. She is presently passing through Pearisburg, VA heading
back to Tennessee to take some time off with a friend. Casually she asks the names of some of the hikers with him
and he rattles off Leatherneck, Flax Seed, Gray Turtle, Smokestack…
When he gets to Smokestack she stops him and says, “MY Smokestack?” He says, “What do you mean, ‘
Your Smokestack’?” She tells him her trail name is Hammock Hanger and she is good friends with Mother
Nature and Smokestack. She asks if he knows where Smokestack is at the moment and he tells her he is
across the street stuffing his face with a banana split. Smokestack says he nearly swallowed his spoon when
she walked in and said hello. Yup. Another small world story!
Red’s Man quizzed Smokestack later about Hammock Hanger and her comment about “My Smokestack?” You see
he had met me and knew she wasn’t his wife. Smokestack couldn’t resist the chance to really put one over on Red.
He told him that he had been doing this long distance hiking long enough to have a woman in every town.
Rested and well-fed Smokestack left Pearisburg. He skipped his intended night’s stay and walked 20 miles to the
Pine Swamp Branch Shelter. We had stayed at this shelter with the Garland family in 2005. The place held fond
memories of the children romping in a playground ball game of “four square” with the younger thruhikers. Smokestack
was shocked to discover a large tree had fallen from the back of the shelter crushing the roof. The shelter apparently
had hikers inside when the tree fell but no one was hurt.
There was a brief pause in his conversation. He suddenly remembered something he wanted to make sure to tell me.
His voice brightened up a bit, which is his way of getting wildly excited, to tell me he had his first bear sighting that
day! He had spent lunchtime near the Rice Field Shelter enjoying the great views off the ridge. Shortly after resuming
his walk he heard a loud limb splitting noise in a tree near him. Turning to see the source of the commotion he
spotted a black furry butt hauling @#$#$ away from him!
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June 3, 2007 to July 2, 2007
Central Virginia really can be tagged “rock and roll” heaven. The trail undulates over peaks and saddles littered
with boulders and overgrown weeds. The trail goes up and over one mountain after another like a roller coaster.
Nearing Roanoke, VA Smokestack came to a blue blazed side trail leading to a
memorial marker to Audie Murphy placed by the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Christiansburg, VA.
He decided to take the side trail to the manicured memorial site to have lunch.
Audie L. Murphy, the most decorated American combat soldier of World War II, died tragically
in an airplane accident in 1971 on a mountaintop near the Appalachian Trail. This war hero received
every decoration for valor given by our country plus 5 decorations presented to him by France and
Belgium. His fame led to a fabulous film career. There can’t be many soldiers remembering Audie
Murphy who can still make the climb to the crash site. It’s a hefty climb although Smokestack
reports new switchbacks making the climb much better.
As he finished lunch and stood to leave he was surprised to find his left foot, and heel in particular,
wasn’t functioning properly. He says it really HURT and the foot didn’t want to flex!
Smokestack limped back down the blue blazed trail to the AT on a very sore heel. He continued to
walk, passing the Pickle Branch Shelter heading toward the Dragon’s Tooth. His notes from 2005
in the guidebook read, “Bitch down!” Dragon’s Tooth is a series of teeth shaped giant rocks
where the trail is a daring descent along a pencil thin ledge. When we traveled this section together
later in 2005 he thought it would be easier for me to climb Dragon’s Tooth than struggling down
the thin ledge. I believe he was right!
This newest descent down Dragon’s Tooth proved to be quite a challenge for Smokestack as it
required every step down to be led by the sore left foot. Although it was uncomfortable for Smokestack
the trip down Dragon’s Tooth proved fatal for Flax Seed and his 2007 thruhike plans. Flax Seed
fell injuring his knee and as an orthopedic physician he knew his journey was over.
Smokestack continued to limp through Lost Spectacles Gap on the way to Devils Seat.
Nearing VA 624 he was greeted by Thumper with a cold Dr. Pepper and word of a place to stay for
the night. Briar Patch, a thruhiker in 2001, lived nearby and picked up the two hikers taking them to
his home. Briar Patch provided a hot meal, hot shower and access to his laundry equipment! Great Trail Magic!
The next day Thumper, also struggling with leg problems, and Smokestack passed over McAfee Knob
and stopped for an early evening at the Campbell Shelter. They both felt the need to take a short hiking
day to rest.
On June 6 Thumper and Smokestack climbed Tinker Cliffs and enjoyed the spectacular views
along the ridgeline. They stopped at Lambert Meadows Shelter for lunch before heading into
Daleville to the Howard Johnson Express for the night.
Smokestack’s note read, “Nothing new. Great views. Very rough sections just as in the past.”
Smokestack took a planned zero on June 7 to meet up with our friends from Bedford, VA
(Suzanne and Warren Shows). They went to lunch at County Cook’in for great southern
cooking and lots of vegetables!
On Friday, June 8, Smokestack called me to tell me he couldn’t walk another step as his foot
was swollen the size of a football and hurt like $$#@!
He was lucky I was home as I was supposed to leave the day before, on a multi-day backpack
on the AT in Georgia and North Carolina. I loaded up my backpack Thursday. I selected hiking
shorts I hadn’t worn in quite a while and I bent over to try them on to see if they still fit. Bam zoom!!!
A lightning bolt ripped up my back and I flopped like a fish on the floor. End of my journey before it started!
He had to sit it out at the Howard Johnson Express until Sunday. I couldn’t stand upright or walk even
with a cane until then. We made a fine pair when we met up. Limp and Groan, the geriatric backpacking duo!!!
Smokestack took up residence on the front porch like a piece of lawn furniture for three weeks. I swear he
grew roots in the chair. I periodically peeled him off the porch and hosed him down. At least his appetite felt
good. He ate and ate gaining back some of that lost weight!
By June 23 he was feeling well enough to plan on returning to the trail. He decided it was best to start
out slow keeping to 10-mile days. He didn’t want me to drive all the way to WV and have to return in a
week if things went sour again so we planned a little joint adventure to make up for my lost backpacking week.
We called our friends in Bedford, VA and made arrangements for a visit on July 1. We planned five days
slackpacking and four days backpacking as a good test period for his foot. We rented a car for a week and
made nonrefundable campground reservations at three campgrounds in MD and PA.
On June 24 we visited our AT section to do a little trail work to check out his foot status before we
hit the road. We knew there was a monster tree reported down and we wanted to take a picture.
The day went well. We grass whipped the five miles round trip and removed two blow downs that had
fallen recently. One of the two was a stinker and we both had to arm wrestle it to get it off the trail.
We eyeballed the monster blow down and agreed it was more than we could chew with our little saws.
On Saturday, June 30 as we are loading the car, Smokestack is limping terribly. I ask if his foot is really
bothering him. “No, it feels fine. I must have pulled something in my back as I have a shooting pain now
for two days that runs from my back down my leg. I am having trouble sleeping it hurts so bad.” I turned
and looked at him incredulous. “You think you are going to drive 7 hours and load a 35 lb backpack on
your back and take off when you can’t stand to walk to the car? You tell me this NOW?”
So, Smokestack is back on the porch glued to his chair. It has been four days and he was unable to walk
two laps around our indoor walking track in the local aquatics center today.
So the journey is halted for the time being.
We are now talking about picking up the trail in Vermont when he is ready to go again.
We just don’t have any idea how long it will take for his back to settle down. This would let him
complete the northern most mountains before the snow flies. He would then pick up the trail in
Massachusetts and walk back to Daleville, VA.
Sigh!
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July 13, 2007 Update
Well folks...
This is just a status report.
The first doctor (an orthopedic doctor to be exact) took x-rays and sent him home FIVE WEEKS ago
with Aleve. He told him there was nothing broken. Just ice it and all would be well.
When things were just not improving, Smokestack made an appointment with our family doctor
yesterday (07-12-07). He ordered an MRI and today, Friday the 13th, we got the report from the
radiologist that there was a clear fracture in his foot. Pete didn't think to ask where but we suspect in his heel.
He is going to a recommended orthopedic doctor in Gainesville, GA on Monday afternoon along with his MRI films.
We will report back when we know more.
It is kind of funny how much he perked up when he found out it "wasn't all in his head" and something was
broken. I never found anyone so happy to learn they had a broken bone. He went straight to the grocery
store and bought himself some ice cream to celebrate. :-)
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July 20, 2007 End of the trail for now
Greetings everyone.
It has been hard to accept for both of us so we had to sit on things for a few days.
Pete saw the radiologist in Gainesville. He reports that the stress fracture in Pete's foot is in the heel as
we suspected. It is the complete length of the heel where the achilles tendon joins the foot.
According to the doctor, this kind of complete fracture is usually seen in long distance runners not
hikers. It also requires a longer recovery time. The doctor estimates it will be at least 2 more months
before Pete would be able to start back on the trail.
He didn't put a cast on his foot but gave him a large rubber heel cup to stabilize his heel in a shoe.
He returns to the doctor in 4 weeks. If all is recovering nicely he will be able to then start short day hikes.
He will have to start out slow as he has been doing nothing but sitting for weeks now already.
The doctor told him that he wouldn't be able to contemplate backpacking over any distance until at least
October. So.....
He will allow the heel to heal properly and without rushing it. Next spring or early summer we
will get back on the trail in Harpers Ferry together and head north.
Thanks to everyone for the support of his 2007 adventure. He enjoyed every step and met great people
along the way. He doesn't see this sudden end to his journey as defeat only a pain in de-feet.
The journey IS the destination.
Mother Nature and Smokestack
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Updated as of 9/17/2007
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