Becoming Odyssa - Jennifer Pharr Davis [29]
7
FRIENDS
HOT SPRINGS, NC, TO
CHERRY GAP SHELTER, TN—84.5 MILES
After climbing out of Hot Springs, the trail travels along the mountain ridges and crosses into Tennessee. Near Erwin, Tennessee, the trail descends to cross the Nolichucky River. It briefly contours the serpintine Nolichucky before beginning a steady climb up Unaka Mountain. On a clear day, the strenuous ascent is rewarded with scenic views at Beauty Spot, but on a cloudy day, you will not be able to recognize Beauty Spot and might become lost in the pine tree maze that covers the mountain summit.
The first several hundred miles of the Appalachian Trail are awkward for a solo hiker. Since leaving Sarah and Doug, I had wanted to hike by myself, but many hikers use the Southern states to search out compatible partners and form hiking groups that will last until Katahdin. I worried that when I talked to other hikers for an extended period of time, they would think I was putting out signals that I was looking for something more long-term.
It was like going stag to a dance. You want to dance, that’s why you’re there, so you eagerly accept any offer to get up and get moving. But then when you start dancing you become paranoid and try not to send the wrong signals to your partner, for fear he’ll think it’s more than just a dance. The plan is to boogey all night with as many partners as possible. But if a song ends and someone asks you to join him for a second dance or a breath of fresh air—that’s when you know you’re in trouble.
That’s why I appreciated trail encounters that felt friendly without feeling permanent. And when I returned to the trail in Hot Springs, I was fortunate enough to dance down the trail with one partner after another.
The first on my dance card was Steam. I didn’t have to introduce myself to Steam because we already knew one another. That is, my mother reported that we had once played together as three-year-olds. I hadn’t seen him for eighteen years, but when our parents discovered that we both planned to hike the Appalachian Trail this spring, we had a dinner reunion to discuss it. I hadn’t seen or heard from him since then, but returning to the trail, I found Steam packing up his tent a mile outside of Hot Springs. I waited briefly for him to finish breaking down his camp, then we hiked together for the rest of the morning.
Steam bounced down the trail ahead of me carrying a lightweight pack with a trimmed-down foam sleeping pad strapped to the side. Instead of watching the trail, I stared at his defined calf muscles and the black elastic bands circling just below his knees.
“What are those black bands on your legs?” I asked.
“They’re braces that help hold my kneecaps in place. I had a lot of trouble with my knees playing soccer as a kid, and I wanted to take some preventative measures to make sure they last two thousand miles on the trail.”
“Like what?”
“Well, besides wearing the braces, the biggest help is using my two Leki hiking sticks to alleviate some of the stress of hiking downhill. Plus I’m trying really hard to keep my pack under twenty pounds, even with food and water. I did a lot of research on lightweight gear before getting on the trail. I have some great homemade gear, and the rest I bought at a discount through the outdoor store where I worked this winter.”
We stopped on the side of the trail so that Steam could collect some water from a nearby spring. After he filled up his water bottle, he took out a clear two-ounce plastic bottle with an eyedropper.
“What’s that?” I asked, as I watch him release two drops of the liquid into his bottle.
“It’s bleach.”
“You mean, like Clorox bleach?” I was both shocked and a little concerned.
“Yeah, it’s just household bleach—granted, I try to steer clear of the lemon-scented kind—but two drops per liter, when dissolved, will kill bacteria without harming humans. The military uses this method, and I’ve also seen it presented as an option at some state parks, plus most U.S. cities add chlorine to the water supply at their treatment facilities. On