Uncle Johnny's Hostel 3

Ride To Dinner

Uncle Johnny's Hostel 3

I got up and my legs are killing me! Normally I feel stiff in the morning, but it goes away after I walk around for a little bit. Not today! I think it's been all of the bicycling on single-gear mountain bikes, stuck in either the highest gear or the lowest gear; or, slipping between two inappropriate gears every three or four strokes. If I ever get a chance to come back here, I’m bringing a bunch of tools and fixing all of his bikes! The backs of my legs are seizing up for no apparent reason and my ankles have turned into "cankles" which, for those of you who don't know, are the combination of a Calf and an Ankle. My ankles are very swollen and I generally feel like blah. I really didn’t feel like hiking out and I was getting worried when salvation came! Cyclone's tooth cracked and part of his filling came out! It looks like we need a dentist, so he's going to call one in Erwin tomorrow. I couldn't be more relieved that Cyclone's tooth was falling out.

I had picked up a copy of "Catch 22" from the library yesterday for 25 cents and I planned to read it but then Rolex finished his copy of "No Country For Old Men" so I sat around all day and read that book. I saw the movie when it came out and I’d have to say the book was better; especially how they explain that Moss is dead, oh sorry, I guess I just ruined it for ya :(). When I saw the movie I was wondering how it would go for the sequel but after reading the book, it’s pretty clear what's going to happen. Rolex has been reading this book for a while and he keeps asking me all these questions since I saw the move but I can’t remember all the details and it was getting annoying so now I read it and he’s not asking me any more questions.

I finished the book in one day and then started on Joseph Heller's "Catch 22." I've been meaning to read this book for a long, long time. I think I started it once but never finished it. If we keep staying at Uncle Johnny's I should be done by tomorrow. I took a bunch of Ibuprofen (Vitamin "I"), hoping to bring the swelling down and hopefully I'll get some sleep, I need to elevate my feet tonight to try to reduce some of the swelling. My ankles look like balloons. Sometime during the day just about everyone we know came in: Cubit, HaHa, Daniel (who may have just gotten the trail name Rasputin)and his sister Brittany, 3 others whose names escape me right now, the NC crew, and we met Hercules.

We moved into one of the cabins instead of the bunkhouse and it’s nice. It’s the place that Johnny’s Mom stays in when she’s here. It was comfortable and I’ll be bale to prop up my feet. Tomorrow, Cyclone should be getting his tooth fixed at the local dentist and then the next day we should be back on the trail. We’re losing a lot of ground by staying here so long but it’s probably a good thing for my legs as well. I can’t explain the pain that seizes up my legs at totally unpredictable times. I’ll be walking just fine and then all of a sudden BAM! They get like a cramp and it feels like my tendons are getting pulled behind my knee. Then, as soon as it hits, it’s gone and I’m limping gingerly, wondering if it will strike again. I wish I knew what was wrong. I’m thinking it’s a potassium deficiency or something like that. I looked it up on the Internet but I can’t find anything definitive; although, I have seen a bunch of other people’s complaints about the same condition. Maybe it will be gone in the morning…

David Patrone AKA "Jukebox"


Website:
http://www.brotherproof.com
Blog:
http://brotherproof.blogspot.com
Pictures:
http://www.photobucket.com/brotherproof
Film:
http://www.youtube.com/wbaf1
Myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/brotherproof
David's Website:
http://www.davidpatrone.com

Uncle Johnny's Hostel 2

Uncle Johnny's Porch

Uncle Johnny's Hostel 2

We had decided to take a "Zero day" on our way down the mountain but we ended up working harder on our zero day than we do hiking. We had to re-supply, we had to take a bunch of stuff back to the post office and of course we had to eat lunch. Seemingly normal tasks you might say; except, all we had were bicycles and town was none too close. We got some great footage of the landscape while riding and thankfully it was pretty flat all the way into town.

It was damn hot though; and as we got into town, the freight train almost messed everything up. They have a freight train that goes right through the middle of town here, and when I say Freight Train, I mean one of those two-mile long deals that has to back up every so often; which, usually happens when you're stuck on the wrong side of it, staring at the blinking red lights and you were on your way to a wedding or to pay your taxes (at 11:58 the night of April 15) or you ate some questionable Mexican dish at the lunch buffet at the Best Western and needed to get back RIGHT NOW MOTHER#$$%$!! Well, we had a bunch of stuff to mail back and the post office is on the other side of the railroad tracks. Cyclone and I came cruising up after the clackers had gone down and although the train was close, it was moving slowly; so we ran the clackers and rolled up on the Post Office. It was 11:30 or so and the post office would close at noon. Rolex was takin’ his sweet-ass time and he got caught since he was way behind us on a bike with only one gear (and the wrong "one gear" to have at that). What we didn't know was that he hadn't put his stuff to be mailed in Cyclone's Backpack. We figured it was OK, he could just sit there and wait, since he was being a slowpoke anyway. Then we got the call on our cell phone that he had stuff to mail out. DAMN! We got lucky though, he managed to get across the tracks at about 11:58 and came slidin' in sideways to the post office and we mailed out his stuff.

We took another loooong bike ride up to the supermarket, packed five days worth of food for three men in one school size backpack and hit every soft-serve ice cream shop on the way home! That's what 98 degree days are for!

Back at the ranch, we hung out and played guitar, read some books, ate some food and watched the guys get drunk again. More people we knew had rolled in and were staying at the Hostel so it was a fun time with old and new friends. Uncle Johnny is pretty cool, he has a ton of stories, as you might imagine a guy who has run a hostel like this for many years might have. I’m going to get in to bed and relax, my legs hurt and my ankles are swelling a little. They should be fine in the morning. I don’t think I’m going to feel like heading out tomorrow but we have to keep moving.

David AKA "Jukebox"


Website:
http://www.brotherproof.com
Blog:
http://brotherproof.blogspot.com
Pictures:
http://www.photobucket.com/brotherproof
Film:
http://www.youtube.com/wbaf1
Myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/brotherproof
David's Website:
http://www.davidpatrone.com

Uncle Johnny's Hostel

Road Calisthenics


Spivey Gap to Erwin TN (Uncle Johnny’s Hostel) 13 miles

As usual on a “getting into town day” I got up early; actually, Barbarossa bellowed out a wake up call at 6:15 to let us know we were over-sleeping. Nothing had tripped the raisin-baited deadfall in the night. The rock wasn’t heavy enough to really get anything but I didn’t tell Rolex that, well, maybe a mouse or something, but nothing bigger. I was hoping it would have at least been tripped; but alas, nada.

We got out and I really needed to use a privy. I did some pack calisthenics in the middle of the first road we crossed and Cyclone took some snapshots. I think they won’t be very flattering but what the hell, you can’t always look good right? We had a shelter coming up so I figured I’d have a place to drop my drawers; but of course, no Privy to be found. I got a little peeved at my brothers there and told them to go ahead, I’d catch up. I eventually caught up but the need for bathroom was becoming a major urge. I blasted past them to try and run down the trail in sufficient time so as to make a bathroom at the bottom but it was not to be. I had to do what the bears do and it was a close call to be sure. The hill into town was long and steep and there’s not much of a selection of defecation sites when you’re on a sleep slope. I didn’t want to go bushwacking up or down in this terrain. The foliage was thick and I was getting frustrated; not to mention the pain in my gut was mounting. The only sort of level part anywhere around is the actual trail and you can’t do it there; plus, it was Friday and there were a day hikers occasionally coming up the trail. I wasn’t about to be squatting just off trail when a couple of Girl Scouts came up (even if the thought of some Thin Mints was enticing) so I was going to have to get off trail some where. I’ll spare you the details except to say that it was rough. I found a spot that went off toward a cliff that overlooked the river about a thousand feet below. As soon as I got into place, Black ants were trying to eviscerate me and flies were not only precognizant but telepathic as well. I heard my brothers pass close by as I hadn’t realized how close the trail came to the site of my struggle. Soon I finished my business and got back on the trail a little lighter, hoping to catch them again.

I caught them as they were talking to a woman who was coming up the trail with her dog. We seem to be in better spirits today and we finally made it down together; although, I know the guys were confused when I came up from behind them after passing them earlier but I’m sure they got the picture quick. We got in to Uncle Johnny’s around 1PM and the hostel was right on the trial. He has his own outfitter and a cool porch that we hung out at until we got our accommodations. It has been really hot around here lately and refreshments were in order. We checked in, did laundry, got some bicycles and headed to the post office to get our brand new sunglasses from Native Eyewear http://www.nativeyewear.com (as well as a tent and some other things). We ate and went to the movies and saw both Zohan and Indiana Jones. We rode bikes back to the hostel in the dark with lightning about five miles out. It was a warm summer night and life was good. We stayed up telling stories and talking to the people we knew who had come in while we were in town. I played guitar while a bunch of people got drunk on the picnic tables. I don’t know how these guys can get drunk and then hike the next day. I couldn’t imagine trying to do these hills hung over. Oh well, I don’t ever have to worry about that again…

David AKA “Jukebox”

Website:
http://www.brotherproof.com
Blog:
http://brotherproof.blogspot.com
Pictures:
http://www.photobucket.com/brotherproof
Film:
http://www.youtube.com/wbaf1
Myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/brotherproof
David's Website:
http://www.davidpatrone.com