(Hogback Ridge Shelter (mile 317.5) - Spivey Gap (mile 333.1))

I started the day off with a early morning poop while watching the rising sun from a doorless privy overlooking the valley east of Hogback Ridge. I left the shelter Shelter at 9:15am after completing my morning stretches and chowing down on a nut butter filled Cliff Bar. Those things are delicious🤤 I wanted to hike about a half mile to High Rock, an overlook right off the trail where I could eat breakfast with a view.

My plan for the day was to hike around 15 miles, which would put me about 10 miles outside of Erwin, TN. The trail doesn’t actually pass through Erwin, but it crosses a bridge just outside of town, which is the location of Uncle Johnny’s Nolichucky Hostel. I don’t know what Nolichucky means, but Uncle Johnny’s offers a tentsite, a shower, and a shuttle in and out of town all for $15, which is a really great deal. I wanted to be about 10 miles out so that I could get there early enough in the morning to catch a shuttle into Erwin and spend most of the day in town. The next two shelters were 11 miles and 21 miles away, so I wasn’t sure exactly where I wanted to spend the night, but that’s not a problem. Tent campsites and stealth spots abound.

Yesterday, AC finished analyzing my 3 day food log, and it turns out I’m eating between 4,000 and 4,200 calories per day. I will need to steadily increase those numbers as my hike progresses, but for now I’m happy to be getting over 4,000 calories and to be feeling satiated. I am potentially deficient in vitamin A, C, and potassium, so I need to be intentional about eating fresh fruits in town or at trail magic. It feels great to have my own personal dietary consultant. With AC’s help, I think I’ll be able to avoid the weight loss and mild emaciation that usually accompanies a thru-hike.

After 2 miles of hiking I reached Sam’s Gap, where the AT crosses beneath Interstate 26. As I approached the Gap, I noticed a trail magic sign pointing up a hill to a small parking area where an older gentleman had set up a folding table, stove, and some chairs. He introduced himself as “Quiet Paul” and offered to cook me a breakfast of eggs and hashbrowns. I gladly accepted and tried to make small talk with Quiet Paul. I learned that he is from Asheville and thru-hiked in 2007. Otherwise, Quiet Paul lived up to his name, speaking only in response to direct questions. He was a nice guy, and his gingerbread cookies were excellent. He served me a heaping plate of eggs and hashbrowns, which I feared I wouldn’t be able to finish. Don’t worry, I cleaned my plate😅

As I was finishing, Excel, Clover, Puddin, Katie, and Jasmine arrived. I thanked Quiet Paul and made my way towards the interstate underpass.

Trail Magic from “Quiet Paul!” As you can probably imagine, he was not the most talkative trail angel, but he made me hean excellent breakfast of eggs and hashbrowns — Trail Magic from “Quiet Paul!” As you can probably imagine, he was not the most talkative trail angel, but he made me an excellent breakfast of eggs and hashbrowns

The day was quickly revealing itself as a cloudless scorcher. As I climbed out of Sam’s Gap, I met and quickly exchanged introductions with a southbound flip-flopper named “Frosty.” We didn’t chat long, but Frosty seemed like a genuinely cheerful dude.

The next 8.5 miles were a rolling steady climb to the top of Big Bald. The forest was beautiful and Quiet Paul’s second breakfast fueled me as I climbed.

I approached Big Bald around 1:45pm. At the summit, I found Lighthouse reclined against his pack. We chatted for a bit and I decided to rest, take in the panoramic views, and eat a late lunch. The afternoon sun was harsh, so I tied my bandana around my head like a bonnet for a little extra sun protection.

I converted my bandana into a bonnet to get some shade on Big Bald

As I was eating my lunch, Excel passed and continued down the trail. Clover, Puddin, Katie, and Jasmine arrived a bit later and we had a heated discussion about the best and worst tuna packet flavors. I ended up chilling on the bald for about an hour. I then prepped my dinner and moved on, hoping to hike another 7 miles or so.

I listened to a lot of music today, starting the morning off with a personal favorite: Brother Ali’s “Us.” Next, I listened to clipping.’s “There Existed an Addiction to Blood,” which was a weird album to listen to on trail, but some of the more hard-hitting songs worked to motivate me uphill. I then mellowed things out with Cat Stevens’ classic “Tea for the Tillerman,” which is a fantastic trail album. Finally, as I began the final climb up Big Bald, I cranked Australian grunge/punk outfit Violent Soho’s “Hungry Ghost,” which pushed me up the climb like a freight train. As I continued on from Big Bald, I was in the mood to hike without music. Sometimes, music is great. Sometimes, I just want to hear the wind through the trees.

The next five miles or so were mostly uneventful. I quickly caught up with excel and hiked with her for a while. We talked about her time as a college athlete at St. Norbert College. She ran track and explained that one of her best events was hurdles. I told her that one of my favorite rappers R.A.P. Ferreira (FKA milo) went to St. Norbert probably around the same time that she was there, but she didn’t know a Rory Ferreira. Excel stopped at Whistling Gap for the evening and I stopped to grab water and dig a quick cat hole. I still hoped to hike another ~2 miles to Spivey Gap, which would put me about 13 miles from Uncle Johnny’s. I bid “see ya later to Excel and hiked on.

About a half mile past Whistling Gap, I took a quick detour to High Rocks for a nice golden hour photo opportunity.

Feeling good at the end of the day on High Rocks

I reached Spivey Gap and set up my tent next to the creek. After hanging my bear line, I was about to eat dinner when a thru-hiker with a strong mustache appeared from the rhododendron. He introduced himself as “Quantum” and explained that he had just finished a 25 mile day. Quantum was another marathon runner turned thru-hiker. As we chatted, I learned that he went to Penn State for undergrad and had recently been working in the Atlanta area as an administrator at a charter school. We chatted about my research and he seemed very interested in frog fungal disease so I was happy to answer his questions.

As I ate my own dinner, Quantum explained that he was also stoveless, but I was alarmed when he clarified that he didn’t cold soak. Instead, he eats protein bars almost exclusively. With a laugh, he pulled a huge bag of protein bars from his pack. I acknowledged that it must be convenient, but also expressed concern for the nutritional quality of a strictly protein bar diet. Quantum shared a bit of his nutritional “bro science” philosophy, which he seemed to have picked up from gym bros, and I shrugged. “Whatever works for you, man.”

I retired to my tent around 8:45pm and worked on some Hiker’s Logs before falling into a deep sleep. Also, I learned today that my interview with the Crawford family is up on YouTube (from back on day 10). If you want to check it out, here is the link: https://youtu.be/_X402xqFLmM