Samwise Hikes the Appalachian Trail! - Trail Journal -
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May 5, Uncle Johnny's Hostel - mile 338.7

What a week this has been. I feel like I've been riding a roller coaster these past 6 days. One day I'm high on top of the mountains, feeling so glad to be hiking, and the next day, I hit another low, feeling sore and miserable and thinking thoughts of failure. Today I feel like I'm coasting back on top again, which is great. I got a great night's sleep, much to my surprise, actually. What with seven dogs barking most of the night, the train coming through every hour, the loud television playing outside someone's large RV on the back lot, plus someone asked me this morning if I had heard the bagpipes. Lucky for me, I hadn't. I must have been very tired, because I first woke up at 3:30 when a train came through and only a few more times after that, until I got up at 6:30.

The first order of business was the Kiwanis pancake breakfast at the armory for $3 a plate. It was a fabulous way to start the day, and I managed to feel full on only one serving, unlike most of my fellow hikers. On the way back to the hostel, our shuttle driver was kind enough to stop at the post office for me to send a package of stuff back to Tony, and then dropped me off at the hospital emergency room. It was my only option for medical care, being it's a Saturday, and I got the best and fastest service I believe I've ever had. I'm not sure, but it seemed like I was the only patient in the entire hospital. Anyway, the good doctor looked at my battered, welted, rashy, swollen legs and said, "What IS all of this?" And I just calmly explained that the heat rash and bug bites and peeling skin were not really bothering me too much, and no, don't mind the knee wraps, either, because my real concern is this lump on my now indiscernable ankle. She poked and felt it and looked at if for a while and said, "hmmmm." The final verdict was along the lines of "I really don't know." Her best guess was that it looks like something bit me lower on my ankle and it's possible that bacteria has gotten in and caused an infection, hence the funny lump. So I got a prescription for antibiotics, with instructions to see another doctor if it doesn't clear up in a few days. To my enormous relief, I did not get any instructions to stay off it for 5 days or any such horror, so I was pretty happy about that.

Then I began the adventure of finding my way downtown to a pharmacy to get my antibiotics. I started in the general direction of where the receptionist pointed me and made a couple turns and then felt totally lost. Just as the doubt was really growing, I passed a house where a lady was sitting outside and I went over to ask if I was headed in the right direction. To both of our amazement, it was Floy Harris, who I had met that morning (along with her husband, John) at breakfast! Not only did she clarify my wandering, she actually drove me down to the pharmacy and came in to talk to the pharmacist, who she knows, then drove me to Pizza Hut for lunch, picked me back up in 45 minutes and then let me hop out at the grocery story to get ice, and finally dropped me back at the hostel. Talk about trail angels! But that isn't all, either. While I was at the Rx, I did not have my insurance card on me. After a fruitless call to Tony to get the information, and debating about who the company was and how we could get the information, the pharmacist simply gave me the medicine for $15, which is what I pay with my insurance. I don't know how much it really cost, but he insisted not to worry about it and let me have it for $15. I was really astounded and grateful -- wow! What a great town this is!

Tonight, a few of us walked across the bridge for the Baptist Church's "ramp dinner." Ramps are a local onion, but we only had them in the potatoes. The beans, cornbread, coleslaw and dessert were all ramp-free and tasted pretty darn good. My dinner companions, Quijote, Lightfoot, Featherweight and Mr. Moo, all left about an hour ago to do some night hiking to the first shelter down the trail. It's only 4.2 miles, but all uphill, so I expect it won't be any later than 10 when they get in. I would have liked to join them, but my better judgment insists on another night of rest before I head out in the morning. So that's what I'll do.

I nearly forgot to mention the most exciting part of our day. While we were walking back from the church dinner, we saw a chopper fly over us with a water carrier (or whatever they're called) and actually dip into the river less than a quarter mile away from where we were watching! Had it flown directly over us, I'm sure we would have felt the spray from the water being blown out of the bucket. Even more amazing was that it returned at least another dozen times for more water. We also saw a half dozen C-130's fly over towards the same area, plus smaller planes that presumably had smoke jumpers in them. While it was all very exciting, it was also somewhat alarming to watch the increasing intensity of the fire-fighting effort. We never did find out how far or how large the fire was, but I guess it wasn't close enough to be seen from the trail.