More From Yesterday

Today has been kind of a catch up day around the house.  I spent my time labeling and organizing my photos, something I haven’t done is several weeks.  It doesn’t take long for it to be a monumental task.  Gene spent his time scrubbing the dirt off the roof of our rolling home.  A lot of effort for something you can’t see, but at least we know it’s clean.  This campground allows you to wash your vehicles.  Gene will take advantage of that while we’re here.  Not many campgrounds allow such an extravagance with water.

We had a very busy day Saturday.  Several things I wanted to share, but yesterday’s post was getting pretty long, so I saved some for today.  There were especially a couple things I felt needed to be further explained for the RVers about long-distance hiking.

I wanted to explain a little bit about trail names. Most long distance hikers have trail names--the name they go by on the trail.  We have often met people whom we know only by their trail names and have no clue what their real names are.  Gene and I have trail names of Trekker and Rising Fawn.  We chose our own names, but it is probably more common to be given a name by those you meet along the trail.  Names acquired from other hikers often reflect a personality or physical trait or a habit you exhibit while hiking.

I also wanted to explain about getting into town for resupply. Some people think that the long-distance hiker carries everything he needs for the entire trip.  It would be impossible to carry enough food for a 4-6 month trip.  Trail towns are those communities which are located close enough to the trail to offer relatively easy access for the hiker to leave the trail, come into town, do laundry, get a shower, and resupply food items.  Some towns are right on the trail or within a mile or two.  Others are far enough away to require a ride.  Sometimes the hiker can call for a shuttle, but in most cases, they hitch-hike.  Gene and I have hitch-hiked several times.  It is not my favorite thing to do.

Now, on to other stuff.

After dropping off Tango and Friar Tuck at the motel, we decided to drive back through the Park with a stop at the Sugarlands Visitor Center.  We were almost sorry we made that decision and didn’t tarry very long.  The parking lots were all full and that should have been our first clue to the crowds inside.  We could hardly get in the door, there were long lines at the information counter, and there was hardly room to stand in the small gift shop.  Two of the most popular places in the park are closed for road resurfacing--Cade’s Cove and Clingman’s Dome.  All those folks who crowd into Cade’s Cove and Clingman’s Dome were at the visitor center, I guess.  I’ve never seen it so overrun with people.

Seeing all those folks helped us to decide to stay home today.  We sorta needed another day off to rest from our hiking and we definitely needed to get a few chores done, but we are mostly just trying to avoid the crowds.

We met our friends, Rich and Patti, for a great evening together last night.  We have known these good folks for several years.  They were in our hiking club in Nashville before Rich transferred with his job to Maryville.  We don’t get to see them as often as when we all lived in Nashville, but we try to get together at least a couple times a year.  They invited us to join them for their Easter worship service last evening and then for dinner afterward.  We very much enjoyed the service.  Thanks for inviting us to go along, guys.  We had dinner at a new Mexican place near Oak Ridge.  The food was very good, but the conversation with friends was outstanding.  We talked and laughed until we were about the only ones left in the restaurant.  We’ll have another opportunity or two to visit or maybe even take in a hike together before we leave.

Well, it looks like this is another very long post.  At least, I think I’ve said everything I wanted to say and probably more than you wanted to read.  So, that’s it for today.