Day 156: Surprises & Karaoke

Start: Walnut Mountain Road (AT mi 405.8). Stop: Boots Off Hostel (AT mi 428.4). Today’s miles: 22.6 miles. Total AT mileage: 1787.3 miles.

Today was tough. Even for a slack pack. I think I was in a foul mood to start with, since I didn’t sleep very well. By midnight I was down to my undies in my little bunk (thank God each bunk had its own privacy curtains) because I was so flippin hot! When I decided to put a shirt on to go to the bathroom, I also decided I was turning that dang heater down too. The man that turned it on in the first place set it to 76 degrees. SEVENTY-SIX. Y’all, the only way the thermostat at home hits 76 is if it’s broken.. I promptly dropped it to 72, still way too hot for my preference, but would hopefully be more manageable than the sauna I was baking in.

I did eventually drift off to sleep after that.. but it wasn’t very restful. When 7 am rolled around I was cranky and didn’t want to get up to get ready for the long day ahead. I did though, knowing that my mom would be getting here when I got done. I packed my stuff up into 2 packs, my day pack stuff and then everything else in my regular pack that I was leaving at the hostel. I wasn’t going to sleep at the hostel, so I didn’t want to take up a bunk or leave my stuff laid out to get moved around while I was gone.

I ate “breakfast” aka: 2 donuts and a banana.. and got ready to leave by 7:45 with another hiker. He got dropped off before me, and at 8:30 I was starting my almost 23 miles back to the hostel. I don’t know if it was my irritation or the actual trail, but it felt tougher today. My legs were tired and it felt more uphill than the elevation profile showed it to be. My hips are also rashy and raw from the rain yesterday chaffing them, so they would randomly sting if a scab opened any. It did make me happy to slack pack instead of hike out with my full pack today.

It had rained overnight and some this morning, but it wasn’t raining when I got moving.. it was pretty saturated though, making some steps a bit slippery. Even still, I kept an ok pace. I’m still shocked I was able to do that 27 mile day recently, because today took longer than that to complete, and today was significantly shorter. Every little thing matters.. and my body is clearly telling me I need a zero. Luckily, I’d be doing that tomorrow with my mom!

I had some pretty scenery, mostly damp leaves and a few flowing creeks. I passed the Hardcore Cascades and the Laurel Fork Falls, which were stunning. Right after Laurel Fork Falls I had a gorgeous walk by the creek the falls created, rocky but beautiful.. followed by the climb up 1700 ish foot of elevation gain to the top of the Pond Mountain Wilderness, and then back down the other side. It did have switchbacks, for which I was eternally grateful.

I made it back to Boots Off sometime after 5pm-probably closer to 6, with the sky dumping rain the last 20 or 30 minutes of my hike. I organized my things and then showered quickly, so I’d be ready when mom showed up. She was originally thinking she’d be there to get me by 6pm, but then she hit quite a bit of rain on the way up, slowing her progress. Now it was looking closer to 7pm before she’d get there, it was already pouring and starting to get dark. I was hungry, but mom had agreed to Karaoke, so I knew we’d be heading to dinner soon enough.

Lizard and I hung out while I waited for mom and Lizard waited for her pizza. She had decided she would pass on Karaoke since it was a 25 minute drive, it was already getting late, and she had to hike out in the morning. I completed understood her reservations.. being without a car and far from “home” for the night is stressful and she’d have probably gotten back pretty late, especially by hiker standards.

Around 7, I saw a familiar SUV drive up the driveway and start the process of turning around.. I wasn’t completely sure if that was who I thought it was or if it was Lizard’s pizza, but in my excitement I ran out to the driveway anyway! Turns out, my mom surprised me by coming with my Aunt Kathy and Uncle Keith!! AND it was Aunt Kathy’s birthday!! I was SHOCKED! She and I had recently been texting and I had no clue she was on her way to see me! What a happy happy day this turned out to be!

I introduced Lizard to my family after I gave hugs all around. Finally after a little chit chatting, I put my stuff in the SUV and we said our byes to Lizard to head to Karaoke. I wasn’t sure that they’d be interested, I wasn’t even sure if mom had told them about it.. but she had and they all wanted to go! It ended up being an absolute blast! The Station at 19E was a bar, restaurant, and hostel just outside of Roan, Tennessee. It had an old honky tonk feel to it. Inside, after we ordered our food and we found a high top bar to sit at, I went and said hi to Zebra, Smash, and MashedPotato.. Sunshine was onstage singing when we came in!

Everyone met my family, we ate our food while my friends and the locals all took turns singing on stage.. it was fantastic! There was also a Great Dane doggo that I harassed a bit, too. I couldn’t help myself, he was too big to not hug.. and I swear he liked it. Mom fed him some chicken (after getting permission) and he stayed around quite a bit after that. Bribery at its finest.

I didn’t do any singing on stage, but I did get on the dance floor and cut loose with my friends. It was hysterical and so so much fun. Looking over and seeing my mom, aunt, and uncle smiling and singing along just made it that much more incredible. We all even ended up singing happy birthday to Aunt Kathy (and apparently to the other 2 birthday people there..). I hope they all had as much fun as I did.. because it probably was one of the most fun nights on trail. Definitely one for the books!

When we finally left, I was a bit tipsy and I’m pretty sure I talked and giggled the whole way to our cabins. We told Uncle Keith the wrong entrance and he almost drove up a golf cart path.. along the lake.. I found it hysterical, I’m pretty sure he found it less so. Eventually we located the correct place that housed our keys, and then we found the actual appropriate cabins..

We unloaded our stuff and within minutes of walking in the door, I was asleep on the fold out couch. Haha, play hard sleep hard I guess! I finally got good, cool sleep! And, better yet, my 3 favorite people are with me! Life is good.