May 3, 1996 town day . I lounged and futzed around…probably should leave, but it is very comfy here. May 4, 1996 4.8 miles to a pond damn just north of Pump Gap . Man-o-man it was tough to leave. My body parts were just beginning to feel better. Stopped by a phone to call home and then headed out of town and up the trail. The climb to Lovers Leap Rock was a leg burner. I caught up with Funkfoot who must have been sweating out some beer. His only comment was that he needed a vacation. Oh my aching foot…and I concurred. I had to quit after five miles. The hardy food and beers back in town made it hard for me to go any further. The campsite was really nice though and several hikers had my same idea. Boy what a mistake though. It was a Saturday night and around midnight some really stupid, drunk locals parked about a hundred yards away and literally screamed all night. Some weekend hikers broke camp in the middle of the night and snuck away. Myself and the other thru-hikers stuck it out. I can tell you though I was a little worried one of those drunks might stumble over my tent and take a leak on it. Moral is: don't ever camp near any road again.

May 5, 1996 6.8 miles to Spring Mountain Shelter. My right foot is really nagging me today. It seems that it won't get any better and it is like walking with a rock in my boot. I got to the shelter just before the rain. Earlier I ran into Susan "Mia" when I stopped in at a cigarette store right off of the trail at Allen Gap . I chugged an RC Cola and chatted for a while. We met again at the shelter and a bunch of us played the game of "If". This is how the objective of the game: I.e. what if you had won the lottery or what if you could meet your favorite movie star, what would you say. Good simple fun late into the night.

May 6, 1996 8.6 miles to Little Laurel Shelter. Hot and rainy all day! I was glad to get out of it. Not a good day. My mind was on my foot all day. Just happy this day is over.

May 7, 1996 6.7 miles to Jerry Cabin Shelter. Rainy and muddy all day. 4 ˝ hours in a continuous thunderstorm gave me little reason to push on to Flint Mountain Shelter- another 6 miles. It took little arm twisting to call it a day. it started to get a little cold out too, and I was glad to be snug in my sleeping back and in dry clothes. By the way the phone in this place is out of order! 8^). The shelter filled up quickly by others who felt the same about the day. I wish that I could stop whining about my foot, but I have a pretty good limp now.8^[

May 8, 1996 12 miles to a campsite near Frozen Knob Hill . On the way up the knob, I ran across an old homestead. A real log cabin from God knows when. Two grave markers of a husband and wife who were both born in 1865 within a month of each other and died within a month of each other in 1965. Is that odd or what. Two centurions. It was a peaceful time for me as I stopped and paid my respects. I saw some bear tracks on the trail near the cabins. Later in the evening before the moon rose, I could hear some hunters signaling each other with bird calls. Soon after that I heard a dog and then the constant whine of a bear that must have been running from this bunch. Both the bear and the dog ran through my camp; not once but 3 times. First the bear then the dog, then the dog followed by the bear. Who was chasing who? No shots fired so I guess the bear got away. The dog on the other hand came up to my tent and growled. I let out a tenacious growl of my own and it finally left.

A Short story about the beagle mentioned below this entry and the bear mentioned above.

If you are interested her perspective of my hike of 1996 and others, you really should read the book, "A Season On The Appalachian Trail" by Lynn Setzer. She followed us around, interviewed hikers and read our journals. It is easy to find on Amazon.com

May 9, 1996 5 miles to Hogback Ridge Shelter. I was here by noon. This is a place to sit and think. I have to decide whether to continue or get off of the trail. My foot is really central in my thoughts. I am also very homesick. I must decide while I am still out here. My body is too important to me to risk damage needlessly. This may very well be the last day of my adventure. Meanwhile part of the "Kitchen Sink", a band of fellow hikers, comes rolling in with a little beagle in tow. Somehow it followed them from a little spot off the trail called Flagpole, TN. They fed and watered it, and now it won't go away. Later that evening I offered to take the dog down to Sam's Gap on US23 and call its owner. Perhaps I could get a ride into Asheville. By evening it became obvious to me that I was going to get off. I don't see the point of maiming myself any longer. I am only getting slower and the limp has knocked the stuff out of me.

May 10, 1996 2 ˝ miles to the Sam's Gap . On the way down a gravel road that led into US23 the dog tripped me up. Well if there was any doubt about getting off trail, the dog sealed my fate. As I rose from the fall, my knee popped so badly that I saw stars in broad daylight. This is life damn it. The right knee which had been holding its own since a fall at Simp Gap finally gave out. It is all too simple now. head for the nearest some place and a phone. I dropped the dog off at a nearby nursery. And hobbled down to a café about a mile away for a meal and to arrange a ride to Asheville. It was a quiet and somber day for me. It was perhaps only the second time in the past several years that the decision to do something was so clear and non-reversible.

Post hike:

I was home in Pensacola 24 hours later. I limped for another 2 ˝ months until my leg and foot healed. The decision was correct. During that 2 ˝ months, I took a tour of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona to explore some of the countryside with my 11 year old nephew Andy. I later soloed in the U.P. of Michigan and did some light backpacking and slackpacking along parts of the North Country Trail. Nothing too difficult, but I needed to keep my spirits up. While in Michigan I decided that I must finish the AT. I have every intention of picking up where I left off. It is likely that I will start in late March of 1997 from either Sam's Gap or Erwin, TN. I will work on getting my knees into better shape and based upon what the podiatrist said, get extra support for my arches. One lives to learn…

One Final Thought

I once read that the trail would tear away at all of the facade and accumulated baggage that people collect over the years. Anyone who spends enough time on the trail will get something out of the experience. Some folks get to know themselves better because life on the trail is simple and undistorted. I realized that I have been waiting around for things to happen in my life. I now want to make things happen, and I am not afraid of the consequences. I was ok with my life before the trail, but I am really stoked with who I have become since the trail. That is my only insight to potential hikers. Be prepared to accept the facts about your true nature.

Kickatree

Georgia to Tennessee 1996