Day 60 - Monday, May 10, 2021

It rained all night and I don’t care... we were having dinner last night and it started pouring as predicted. We just made a hotel reservation for the night and stayed nice and dry and cozy. This is what our “Platinum Slack Packing Hiking Package” is all about. I JUST LOVE HIKING 😉!!

After a nice hot breakfast we drove back to our campsite to finish packing and made our way to the trailhead. It was still raining and the temperature was 52°. 

Today we resumed hiking in Tennessee from McQueens Gap USFS 69 (459.4 NoBo) to TN 91, Shady Valley, TN (449.1 NoBo) equaling 10.3 miles. Did I mention that it was raining? We’re just going to wait it out as it calling for clearer skies this afternoon and then do our hike... remember you can do things like this when you have the “Platinum Package” 😉. 

We may still have rain and possibly get wet (Sunny* said... “you’re going to get wet...”) but we’re going to our “Platinum Package Airbnb” tonight.  (*“Sunny”Eberhart  We have been tracking Sunny and he is heading NoBo right towards us. As of yesterday Sunny was at 344.2 NoBo so we could see him around Wednesday/Thursday. We are looking forward to running into Sunny on the trail to meet him and talk with him 😉 - click on link to learn more about “Sunny” and his amazing story.)

We finally began hiking at 11:45 am as the forecast called for rain to stop by noon and our hike would take approximately 5 hours to complete so we decided to start.... yes we started in a slight rain 😠.

The first 1/4 mile of this segment of the AT was upgraded to be handicap accessible which is really unusual but it was nice that the ATC built this segment for all to enjoy 👍🏻.

We came upon some trail art 😊.

The Double Springs Shelter. It started talking to us as we approached it 🤭.

We turned the corner and lo and behold we meet THC (Thru Hiker Chic) but I thought she was referencing something else (Tetrahydrocannabinol) 🙄. She began hiking from Springer on March 17th. THC is from South Carolina. I asked her why she is hiking the AT and she replied that she has been planning her thru-hike since 1997 but couldn’t do it then as she was still raising her children. They have all recently moved out with lives of their own, so she finally has the opportunity to do it. She is going to Damascus for “Trail Days” but hikers aren’t allowed to camp in town until Thursday and it’s only a two day hike from the shelter so she has a day to kill. 

It did stop raining but it remained cloudy and overcast all day.  

A red spotted newt or salamander.

This is “Tenacious Turtle” (no relation to Turtle Power) and “Mae” (on the right). They are section hikers and we have passed them the last three days; today is their last day on the trail - it’s been a pleasure sharing the trail with you 😊.

McQueens Knob, misuse shelter. It was built in 1934 before the AT was officially open. Now it’s only used for emergencies or some lone wolf hiker who hasn’t have his own shelter (tent). There is a thru-hiker on the trail right now who only has an army blanket and wears military fatigues. I think his trail name is “The General” 🙄.  I’ll be keeping my eyes on him if we see him on the trail. 

We finished hiking at 4:15 pm; the temperature was 52°. It was damp and dreary all day but the sun actually came out just as we pulled into the Airbnb. After tomorrow’s hike, all in Tennessee, the AT goes right along the Tennessee/North Carolina borders until we reach Hannah Mountain. 

Till next time... Happy Hiking  🥾 

😋

“You gotta have passion for life and passion for something that you're going to get up and do,".    

                                Meredith “Sunny” Eberhart