Apr 6

DAY #31
START LOCATION: Jerry Cabin Shelter
FINISH LOCATION: Devils Fork Gap/Erwin, TN
TODAY'S MILEAGE: 8.7
TRIP MILEAGE: 306.9
MILES TO GO: 1,872.2

Tented at Jerry Cabin and slept really well with the nice weather.
Ankle felt a little stiff but ok when I awoke. Diesel gave me his
ankle brace to try on my 8 mile hike to Devils Fork Gap. I was on the
trail by 9:30AM and it felt about the same... Stiff, throbbing a bit
and very little range of motion.

Some gorgeous views on Big Butt (yes, you read right, Big Butt. This
might be the only time in my life I write this sentence). Given my
mission to get off the trail, Big Butt allowed me to make phone calls
to home and arrange for a pickup at Devils Fork.

Secured a shuttle to Uncle Johnny's Hostel in Erwin, TN at 4PM. This
afforded me a nice slow hike down to the road and gave me plenty of
time for breaks. The breaks were needed... It was hot... 88 degrees.
Enjoyed a nice long break with Nicole, Nathan and their little Corgi-
esque pup Bomber. They are Asheville residents enjoying a few days on
the trail and were nice company for some of my hike and the
intermediate shelter break.

Rolled into Devils Fork Gap at 3:30. I was glad. I was early... There
was a nice shady spot on the trail I could sit and watch for the
shuttle. As I arrived, I saw two thru-hikers I'd met the day before,
Kit and Ready. Kit is a high school grad from England and Ready is
from Indiana. They had been rolling together for sometime with their
third buddy... Fuzzy, but the Fuzz was surprisingly missing. Kit and
Ready were cursing him. They were apparently supposed to meet there
and hike together the next 6 miles to the shelter. The two asked if
I'd gotten a shuttle. They were very tempted to come along, but
couldn't leave because Fuzzy had apparently moved ahead. So, they
decided to push on and find Fuzzy. Ready left and Kit was going to
take another 5 minutes. Well, as Ready made his way around the corner,
it was less than 30 seconds that Ready was all but sprinting back to
the Gap. Fuzzy had been around the next corner.

The four of us hopped in the pickup truck and were at the hostel by
4:30. Great little place. We all pitched a tent in the yard for $8 a
head. Dinner shuttle took 9 of us to a Mexican joint for dinner which,
wasn't great but they served beer. I filled up nicely while enjoying
the story of Uncle Johnny and his wife starting up the place 13 years
ago. Very nice folks.

Enjoyed some beers and did laundry I'm the evening. Great company. It
took my mind off my ankle for a nice while.

Headed into Erwin tomorrow... I will be calling around for a clinic
that can do x-rays (and takes Blue Cross/Blue Shield) and hopefully
get a solid diagnosis on this thing.

Thanks again everyone for your help and offers of support. Means a
lot. I'll post when I know more about my ankle's status.

Oh, got an email from Fynious aka Mikey No Pants. He met his goal of
reaching Erwin by April and apparently is going to jump back on the
trail in a couple weeks. Hoping to see him again. He's one of the
first hikers I met back on 3/2 in the blizzard and a great guy to have
around.

300 miles down!

-natedog