My Week with Pig Pen by Brian (aka Hammer Time)

Just got back from spending a great week on the trail with Dan.  I hiked 6 days with him and then Robin and I provided"slack pack" service for a day.   We covered 72 miles from Roan Mountain TN to Damascus VA during the 6 days I hiked with him - not much by his standards but A LOT by mine. He was a good sport and backed his mileage down so I could keep up.  I got to meet many of his fellow hikers that he has spoken of including Fifty - Fifty, Big Brother, Little Brother, the Buzzard Boys, Blackhawk Bob, Rocket, Bomber, Crasher, Rocky, Stumbles, Blue Bird, Smokes, Smiley Virgin, Bahala Na, and several others.  The first thing anyone says when you meet them is "What's your name?" , so I had to quickly adopt a trail name.  I adopted the name "Hammer Time" because of the blacksmithing / truck driving connection so that will be my trail name from now on.  Here's a brief recap of the week:

Thur, 4-25, Robin and I drove up to Roan Mtn. where Pig Pen was waiting on us.  We took him to eat a big breakfast and then he spent a couple of hours sorting out his gear and resupplying his food out of the stuff we brought up.  We got on the trail about 2:30 and did 9 miles winding up at the Vango/Abby memorial Hostel.  I think that is the only night so far Dan has spent in a hostel.  Jones Falls was the highlight of the day, and Dan passed the 400 mile mark.

Fri, 4-26, we hiked 14.2 miles and stayed at Laurel Fork shelter.   Sat, 4-27, we hiked 9.1 miles and camped by Watauga Lake.  We had intended to stay at the Watauga Lake shelter, but it was full when we got there.  9 miles is a very short day for Dan, so he made a side trip into Hampton TN in search of food and met me later in the day at the camp.  I spent the day thinking about the sub sandwich or hamburger he would be bringing, but all he could find was some stale doughnuts that tasted like chemicals.  One bite, had to spit it out. 

On Sunday, we woke up to steady rain.  We waited and waited and finally had to break camp in the rain around 10:30.  We hiked 6.5 miles in the rain to the next shelter.  There was only one person in it so we (I) decided 6.5 was enough for the day.  We stayed holed up in the shelter the rest of that day.  The other hiker was a nice guy named Bahala Na.  He explained his name meant "whatever may come" in native New Guinea.  We hiked near Bahala Na for the rest of the way into Damascus. 

On Monday we hike 13.6 miles and tent camped.  One of the high points for that day were getting my first trail magic.  A local church maintains a trail magic box of ice cold soft drinks and little debbie snacks.  They were awesome and helped me make the last few miles.  We also got to hike about 1.5 miles through a big pasture and had cows judging us.  The hiking was so easy through the pasture that Dan forgot his trekking poles at the trail magic box and wound up doing an extra 1.5 miles to retrieve them.

Tuesday we hiked 14.4 miles to a dry campsite.  We had to carry a lot of extra water the last few miles of that hike because there wasn't any for a few miles before and after the camp.  Wednesday was the easy day, only having to hike about 5.5 miles into Damascus.  We made it in by 10:00, ate a bag of doughnuts and waited on Robin to get there.  Robin arrived about 11:00 and we went straight to the nearest mexican restaurant.  We spent the night in a hotel, and the next morning dropped Dan off at 7:00 am for a day of slackpacking.  He only had to carry his pack, raingear, food for the day and water.  Robin and I spent the day in Abingdon and Damascus and then took him a pizza up to the designated meeting place.  We also took Cokes, beer, and snacks for the other hikers that would be coming through. He hiked 23 miles in 8 hours and then hiked another 5 after the break. 

Some of you may have seen the photo entitled "Our new friends from Germany" from the first post about trail magic.  We ran into these hikers again in Damascus , over 400 miles north of the previous meeting, and got to provide some more trail magic to them.  We gave "Smokes" and "Smiley Virgin" and ride to the grocery store and then they came through our trail magic station the following day. 

Here's some pics from the trip:

Jones Falls

View from the hostel porch

Footbridge near Laurel Falls

Little Brother on ledge trail along river

Laurel Fork Shelter

Pig Pen and Kara

View of Watauga Lake.  We would hike across the dam in the distance the following morning.

Tent site on Watauga Lake

Kara taking a snooze

Block mural in Vandeventer shelter

Dan and Kara in Vandeventer Shelter

View out of the shelter

Vandeventer Shelter

Watauga Lake blanketed by clouds

Trail magic!

Hiking through the pasture



Kara in the pasture



Head judge.  Don't know if I passed.

Hammer Time, Pig Pen, and Kara

Pig Pen and Kara at the TN/VA line

Welcome to Damascus!

Dan waiting on me at Mt. Rogers Outfitters

Trail Magic station Robin and I set up

Pig Pen, Smiley Virgin, Rocket,Robin,Kara, and Smokes

Me and Robin with Dan as he sets off again.

Pig Pen Passes 400 Mile Mark with Pops

Quick update on Pig Pen. He sent me several pictures last night from the past week or so. All is good and he has some company right now other than Kara. Mom dropped Pops off at Roan Mountain to start hiking with him on Thursday for about a week. She will pick him up sometime next week in Damascus, VA.

Unaka Mountain

Unaka Mountain

First trail magic beer

Tired Pup 

Barn converted to a shelter past Roan Mountain 

That's the barn from up high 

Hump Mountain 

Kara on top of Hump Mountain 

Jones Falls 

Kara at Laurel Creek Falls 

New trail swag 

Getting ready to go! Kara sure was excited to see her Pops. 

Pop's pack. 

He made it past the 400 mile mark with Pops. They stayed in a cool hostel there.

341.5 Miles, Erwin TN and PICTURES!!!

Hey folks,

Happy to say I made it to Erwin, TN Norovirus free (although I'd say about 30-40% of hikers I saw on this last stretch had gotten it). The past 68 miles from Hot Springs flew by, and were full of different terrain and beautiful features. 

These pictures were from a tough section of trail called "Firescald" where my data book strongly suggested to bypass due to strenuous, rocky, terrain. So of course I hiked to the top to find these views worthwhile. While up top, I did come across a man in his 50's who could not figure out how to navigate the terrain at one point. We saw a white blaze, looked around, and saw no more trail. I looked straight down over a steep ledge and saw that the trail dropped straight down about 10 feet before continuing down. I led the way and he lowered his pack down to me and was able to make it down as I provided spotting for him.

With the help of some local knowledge, I learned that these are from three Union sympathizers in the Civil War, ambushed here by Confederate soldiers on their own property; they were seen as traitors being in the south. 

One of my favorite sections so far. Very beautiful forests, pictures just don't do it justice.

 TRAIL MAGIC. THE BEST TRAIL MAGIC EVER.

Saw this sign at a shelter just before Sam's Gap and pretty much jogged there. 

 This is Quiet Paul, a Trail Angel. He's thru hiked NoBo, SoBo, and is now working on section hiking the AT. His wife recently passed away and he moved to Asheville so he spends a lot of time doing incredible trail magic. I sat there for an hour and this is all I learned about him, he's definitely a man of few words letting me know that his trail name was not one derived from sarcasm. But he fixed me the biggest plate of hashbrowns and eggs I've ever seen.

Trouble, Quiet Paul, and HoBo (Homeward Bound). 

Waaaayyyyyy in the distance is Big Bald, the highest point visible in the picture. In less than two hours from taking this picture (5 miles from this point) I was standing on the very top.

Same vantage point, just zoomed in.

Big Bald again

Sorry, no pictures from up top, I think I was too focused on food and after eating I laid on the ground in near coma enjoying the sunshine and a temporarily full belly.  Not sure if this video will work, but I just found it- I did manage to get some evidence of Big Bald.

And, the final picture from this section- a rainy hike into Erwin.

Actually spending a day or two at home changing out some gear and cleaning clothes and spending time with the family before I get too far north. I'll also get to see Kaity for a day or two and then she'll run me make to Erwin on Sunday as I prepare to head into a beautiful stretch of trail leading towards Damascus, VA. (with four more legs than I came home with)

As Always,  thanks for all of the support. This hike has already been an incredible experience and I am thankful for the opportunity. I hope this inspires some of you to get out and make some adventures of your own. Until next time, Pigpen.