Going Boots Off

It's Saturday, April 27, and I am at the Boots Off Hostel off of mile 429 or so on the AT. Last night, I did some stealth camping after I was unable to find a suitable “established” camping spot because of the rain. Fortunately, it stopped raining overnight, so my tent had some time to dry out. It was definitely a pleasant surprise — and a very welcome change of pace — to be able to put away a dry tent for a change.  

For the day, I was only planning on hiking about 10 miles to the Laurel Fork Shelter. But as I was hiking, the miles were passing relatively quickly. I passed through the Laurel Falls area, which is quite nice and had a lot of tourists and day hikers and such, and made it to the Laurel Fork Shelter around lunchtime. So then, I had a choice. I could either hike another 12 miles, at least, to get to the next shelter — that would have put me at around 22 miles for the day, which just wasn't going to happen — or I could stay there at Laurel Fork, or I could go to the Boots Off Hostel. The reason I had to choose one of these options, rather than just stealth camping again, is that there are bear restrictions around here. So you're not allowed to just camp wherever you want. The hostel seemed like a good option, and it allowed me to get six miles closer to Damascus, where I’ll be meeting up with S. on the 30th.

I had enough internet connection at the Laurel Fork shelter to be able to call Boots Off and make a reservation, and then, I hit the trail again. Unfortunately, between the Laurel Fork Shelter and Boots Off, you’ve got to cross Pond Mountain. And that turned out to be just a terrible hike. Technically, it was only about six and a half miles, but from an effort perspective, it was at least twice the work.

On my way up, I crossed paths with Ma and Pa, who were coming down the mountain. They had elected to slack pack. So they’d gotten a ride over to the opposite side of Pond Mountain and were slack packing back. I have to admit that I was very jealous of them at the time.

Eventually, I rolled into Boots Off, though that makes it sound a little easier than it actually was. The hike up to the hostel from the trail is no joke. They actually have all these funny, encouraging signs along the way to keep you motivated. I’m not sure how much they actually helped, but they were entertaining, at least.

The Boots Off Hostel is a really interesting place. It’s got a real bohemian vibe. The woman who checked me in is named Lucky Moon. As I was sitting on the porch of the bunkhouse, I saw Coffee and Bodacious getting out of the shuttle from town. They’d just gotten there this morning. I thought that they were further ahead of me, so it was a nice surprise to see them.

Anyway, after I’d checked in, I of course took a long shower. The shower is kind of a trip. And the little bunkhouse is pretty cool. Each bed has these little curtains you can close for some privacy, which is a nice touch. My bunk is the very manly pink one.

After that, I went down to the communal porch area to have a beer and hang out with a bunch of other hikers. Misneach, Coffee, Bodacious, Chappie, Banana, and Beans were all there, plus a few other familiar faces whose names escape me.

There's actually a large contingency of people here — including Chappie and Banana — who are planning on aqua blazing tomorrow. There's a lake right here [Wife note: Watauga Lake] that you can canoe the length of — I think it’s about a 10-mile canoe trip — but it shaves 21 miles off the AT. So a lot of people are going to be doing that rather than hiking the next section on foot.

I want to walk back to Virginia, at the very minimum. I'm certainly not against aqua blazing in any way, but it doesn't seem like the right choice for me personally, especially right now.

And, good lord. Apparently, people are setting off some crazy fireworks now. [Wife note: The fireworks in the background of the recording were pretty insane.] I might need to cut this a little short because of the fireworks. Geez.

Tomorrow morning, I’ll get up and have some coffee, donuts, and fruit, and then it’s back to the trail again.