After a two day rest, I drove back to the trailhead with “Nothing“ and dropped him off to hike the 20 miles from uncle Johnny’s to the Iron Mountain trailhead. When I stepped out of the car, I wanted to put on my pack and join him for those last few days. However, the intense pain in my inner thighs continued just stepping out of the car. I needed more rest…

So now I’m home, and after about a week’s rest, I finally started retraining with walking and weight routines at the YMCA.

It was time to rest my legs, so it was off to Damascus for the day. The day included a visit to the outfitter where I found grandma Gatewood‘s sneakers. I had meatloaf at the diner too.

I’m at Lady Di’s hostel for the night, hoping to recover enough to do some more hiking before it’s time to go home.

When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President. Now I’m beginning
to believe it.

Clarence Darrow

Overnight I found that I had really done a job on my quadriceps coming down off of Roan Mountain. Every time I bent my knees, cramps in my inner thighs immediately began. I spent most of the night trying to massage my thighs and keep the cramps from coming back.

Day #2 was spent hobbling along with intense pain in almost every step. I shouldn’t be surprised, injuries can be very common. But, this was the first time I’ve had a significant “injury“ on trail. Consequently , our shuttle driver picked us up after 6 miles and pulled me off trail. The good news is the weather was nice and it was a beautiful day.

I met Pig Pen on trail who told me pain was a good thing. “When you have to concentrate on the pain, you forget all your other worries in the world.” Wise words from the trail…

At Iron Mountain Gap, we met Orange Man, who was using a scooter to shuttle to his car. I thought that was a great way to leapfrog if you’re solo.

AT Thru-Hike Stats
Section Day #2 (3/21/24)
Start - Clyde Smith Shelter (370.8)
End - Iron Mountain Gap (364.8)
Today's mileage: 6.0
Total section miles: 16.0
Section Avg:  8.0
Total miles on AT: 1278.2

Never confuse movement with action.

Ernest Hemingway

Gary (Nothing) and I shuttled up to Carver Gap (5,500 ft) at the Tennessee/North Carolina state line to start our hike. We climbed Roan to over 6100 feet in the first mile and a half. The highest shelter on the entire trail is here. The trail had a lot of ice and it was windy and cold.

Then the long descent began. There was one additional climb of about 900 feet before we got to the Clyde Smith shelter for the night. The going was slow and the descent took its toll on my legs. We arrived just before dark after getting a late start from Carver’s Gap.

It was a cold night, but we were out of the wind and I was nice and toasty.

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AT Thru-Hike Stats
Section Day #1 (3/20/24)
Start - Carver’s Gap (380.8)
End - Clyde Smith Shelter (370.8)
Today's mileage: 10.0
Total section miles: 10.0
Section Avg:  10.0
Total miles on AT: 1272.2

Life isn’t hard to manage when you’ve nothing to lose.

Ernest Hemingway