I woke at 6:45 am. While I laid there in my sleeping bag, there was a wood pecker near by pecking on a tree. It went tap-tap-tap pause tap-tap-tap pause tap-tap-tap. It sounded like an alarm going off. It went on for 10-15 minutes. Laying in a warm sleeping bag, on a chilly morning, listening to the sounds of nature was very peaceful. I was on trail at 8:15 am. Grim, Sequoia, and Phys Ed were close by. It was a short distance into Erwin. We all decided to stay at Uncle Johnny's hostel. On the trail today I saw several patches of wintergreen plants. A few had red berries. I ate the one in the picture. It was very good. It reminds me of the wax lips or teeth that kids use to buy, with a slight mint flavor. It was great weather for hiking. As I neared the end of the day I could look down at the town of Erwin and the Nolichucky River. The hostel folks gave us a ride to the Walmart so that we could resupply. Great Legs and Foxtrot are at this hostel. Foxtrot said he had got the illness going around, but he's fine now. I hadn't seen him since Franklin. He said Wanderlust left the hostel this morning. So he's just a day ahead of me. Hopefully I'll catch him by Damascus.
Dear Mr. Smith,
ReplyDeleteWe can't believe you have hiked 341.5 miles! Keep doing your best! We love reading your blog and seeing the people you meet. We liked the hiking dog in your blog. What was it's name? Don't give up :)
Love,
Mrs. Chancey's Third Graders (Lucy, Brandon, Emerson, Liam D, James, Jaylon, Sophie, Danny, Kaden, Ronan, Sophia, Joshua, Wyatt, Evelyn, Liam M., Brock, Owen, Maya, Mattie, Bastian, Steven) :)
Thank you! I don't remember the name of the one dog, but he was very friendly. I like trail dogs.
DeleteMiss the updates! Hope you're doing well. Sorry I missed your call on Sunday :( It was Phil's birthday, and we were spending time with his family. Hope to talk to you soon!
ReplyDeleteKing and Great Legs are in the one picture.
ReplyDelete