April 19th - 46 - Helvey's Mill to The Mile 609 Camp.

In our conversation last night Dan and I discussed the idea of 15 miles a day with no zeros putting us at a finish date of August 7th. The idea of no zeros was clearly out of the question, and Dan wanting to finish in the end of July, the pace had to be quickened.

Feeling pretty exhausted and beat up after yesterday's mileage, this morning is slow. All the sectioners are long gone by the time I am finished eating and on the trail at 9:30. My journal says very little about the hiking today. Grease and Live-n-Learn caught Dan and I around lunch, which apparently took place at Jenny's Knob Shelter. I can only assume that the hiking was easy and care free. HAHAHA.

Bridge over the creek Kimberling

Around five, Live and I reached a bridge and a road. AWOL's guide informed us that Trent's Grocery  (a must stop for thru hikers) is only a half mile away. After a short walk I indulged myself to two cheeseburgers from the short order menu and a 6-pack of PBR to go.

The grocery has showers, laundry, and camping on site here but we consensus to hike a few more miles down trail. This plan soon becomes a night hike and what would turn into revenge of the "Freaks Comes Out at Night" headlamp strobe party. The popular 1980's hip-hop song was some becoming our night-hiking anthem.

At a quiet footbridge near mile 609, Sunbear, Grease, Handsome Dan, Live-n-Learn, and I found a flat spot to camp. We had a small campfire enjoyed our warm packed out beers, listened to music, and discoursed on the problems facing our planet until midnight.

Rusty Crossholes

April 18th - 45 - Chestnut Knob Shelter to Helvey's Mill Shelter

It was such a beautiful night I slept out under the stars, I slept well enough not to keep the fire going but still managed to hear all the coyotes about. The sunrise accompanies me while I cook and eat my oatmeal. The plan is to get on it a do some big miles.

The morning is still, hiking through the forest I spook a dozen or so deer and we have a staring contest when they reach a safe distance. Its ten miles of classic Virginia ridge walking and a large decent to Jenkins creek. There's a flat spot by a bend in the creek where Dan and I stop to eat lunch, most of the hikers present last night stop in.

The trail head back up to a ridge and follows an old road bed for a while. these road beds fascinate me for some reason. At some point in history they were used for model A fords, or horse and buggies, or just horses. In a lot of places the care and work that went into creating these roads are evident. on the downhill side of a path occasionally the stone-work retainment is still in tact. The Great Smoky Mountains had some of this too. Someone at some point in history put in a  lot of effort to put  this road here, and I thank them. This is some of the nicest hiking I will do on the trail.

Some rather choice hiking on old road bed.

I am completely exhausted by the time I reach Helvey's Mill. to throw salt in the wounds, the shelter is a half mile off trail. For good measure the water source is 0.3 down a real steep hill. There is also a pile of sectioners here. Canadiaah is the only other hiker from last night to come all this way. Dan and I manage to snag the last two spots in the shelter. Laziness governs all when you've hiked 24 miles. We plot out our current pace and distance left to gauge and end date, but these estimates are doomed.  The AT is too much fun to try and schedule it all out.

DIY Floyd Leg

A while back, somewhere deep in an internet hole, I found this furniture design that caught my attention. Now, ordinarily I am not researching furniture, but anything with an innovative design aspect regardless of subject, I get interested. The Floyd Leg is at its basic level is a clamp on table leg. Looking more into the design objectives, it is a non-permanent solution to big heavy furniture in a nomadic living arrangement. It can be used on almost any table surface, and when you need to pack up and move, just un-clamp and go.

I was morally offended when I found out these legs go for upwards of 200 dollars a set, almost 300 dollars for a set that doesn't wobble if you use the table for anything more than a decorative piece. At this price one could move ten times and just source thrift store or craigslist tables at $20 a pop.

Then again I can't get over my intrigue for these legs. Solution: DIY. (really the solution to everything).

I found some steel bed frame rails for zero dollars. These provided all of the structural material I needed. Next the clamping apparatus. After a bit of internetting I found who I imagine The Floyd Leg company sources there bits from. TE-CO make precision machining components and the sell these clamping screws for custom machining jigs. TE-CO Swivel Clamp

Bed frame rail before getting chopped

I spent close to $50 on Amazon for three pairs of these clamping screws. An even cheaper alternative would be to buy some large eye-bolts and weld a plate onto the end after threading it through your leg. This would be more permanent and could be modified so it could be taken on and off. These swivel head screws just provided a nice clean solution, so I spent the money.

Legs cut to 29.5" (common table height)

Potato quality engineer weld.

Hardware: Swivel Head screws from TE-CO,
1/2-13 & 5/8-16 Nuts from local hardware store.

Drilling plate to hold screw

Variation: The Floyd Shelf

Ready for paint

I set up the legs on a piece of 3/4 ply and it worked well. The top angle deflected a little when the clamp is really tightened down. And the table wobbles a bit too much for my liking. I plan on welding in the corner to help the deflection, this should provide a little more rigidity to the whole structure as well. I also plan on painting the legs. Ill upload part 2 when that happens.

April 17th - 44 - Knot Maul Branch to Chestnut Knob

In a great stretch of communal hiking tonight is the culmination.

I wake up early and lower the bear bag. Mama Bear is the only other person up this early. I cook and eat breakfast and watch the sunrise. I start hiking around 8:30. At lick creek I break, Grease and I fool around and take an un-necessary foray over a log bridge close to the trail.

A white blaze on chestnut knob.

I took lunch by a spring fed pond on the way up chestnut knob. The water source looked bad, but if you circle around to the back of the pond there is a piped spring. The weather is gorgeous, sunny, warm enough to sit and lounge without getting cold. After lounging about for an hour or two, almost every hiker I can name on trail today is here. Slowly we pack up and keep moving. Not very far though.

Sunbear hiking up a bald on chestnut knob.

After a short 2-ish mile hike across the top of Chestnut Bald, I reach the shelter. It is a completely enclosed shelter, the first I can recall (Fontana Hilton has no doors). It is rather nice except for a slight stale smell inside. Hawk, Yo Teach!, Birdamn, and Mumbles keep hiking on. But as more and more hikers arrive here a consensus is made. It is far too nice up here to keep hiking.  Mama Beear volunteers to go fill water for many of us. The source for this shelter is almost half a mile back south on the AT, almost a deal breaker.

Sunbear and Grease scout out flat tent spots.

The view out over the valley is easily top ten for the whole hike. as the sun sets behind me I watch the shadow of the ridge move out across the valley. More friendly faces come in tonight including One Day, Fun Size, Canadiaah, Youngbeard, and Sunshine.

Sunset over a bluebird valley.

Many thru-hikers sit about and converse til after dark. Tonight is one of the nights where you sit back and think about how lucky you are to be sitting here. at this place, at this moment, with these people. And how you would not trade it more any amount of money, fame, or time on this earth. It reminds me that happiness lies not in money or fame, but in the human experience.

Sunset and a campfire.