It was 11.1 miles into town – all in the rain. Which is why we don’t have photos to share from today.
We woke up at 6a and hurried to get ready before the heavy rain started. We had just finished packing up when it intensified. The plan was to meet up as a group and head out. Luckily, the trail magic from the night before had tarps set up, so we huddled under those until everyone was ready. We left around 7:30a. We thought we were making good time. I felt like I was practically running at points. Sadly, our pace wasn’t much more than 2 or 2.5 miles an hour. We took a break at the shelter for about 40 minutes until everyone met up again. There wasn’t any use moving ahead in the rain since we have to get a shuttle into town. We would either be waiting dry(ish) in the shelter or wet at the side of the road.
The last few miles were torture. You could see the end was near, but we had so much walking to do yet. We got off the trail around 12:30p. Just a few yards down the road was Uncle Johnny’s, a hostel we had originally planned on staying at. Knowing more rain was coming, we opted to split hotel rooms. We walked down to Uncle Johnny’s and called a shuttle. We also got to see more of our friends for a bit, some who have been a day or so ahead of us.
It was $7 a car load and for a group of 9, it would take 3 car loads to get us to the motel. Uncle Johnny’s was going to charge $5 person per ride for non-guests. The shuttle service made more sense.
The Super 8 motel was a couple of exits up on the highway. The trail runs about 5 miles away from Erwin, but it never reaches the town. So we have to take shuttles if we are going in. We got 3 rooms for 9 people. 1 couple got their own room. The other 7 split. It was Bullseye, Snow Monkey, Warthog, and myself in one room. Lotus, Hype, and Atlas in another. It felt incredibly good to be able to sit in a dry place. Both rooms had the heat turned up to 86, the hottest it would run. We just needed to warm up. We all took turns showering and getting ready. Late afternoon we called the shuttle again to take us to a restaurant and then we would go to Walmart afterward for a resupply. They shared a parking lot. However, they were another exit or 2 up the highway so the shuttle was absolutely necessary.
We all overate. I immediately regretted it. I dragged myself across the parking lot and through Walmart. I felt horrible. After we checked out, I went to the bathroom and tried to vomit, that’s how bad I felt. No luck.
The shuttle arrived to take us back. I sat in the front and felt queasy all the way to the motel, panic starting to set in. I curled up on the bed and just laid there for a while. Then it hit and I lost my whole dinner. All of the $16 I just spent. Dang it!
I temporarily felt relief, but through the night the queasiness stayed with me. I spent the rest of the evening not really moving on the bed. We checked in with Kirby, the friend who stayed back because he was ill, it sounds like we might have the same thing.
I feel bad that we are sharing a room now that I’m sick. But in all reality, they’ve already been exposed. We went to bed a little after 10p. I woke up repeatedly, each time in opposing states. Sometimes I felt like I needed to vomit again, other times I felt like I was all better. I’m really hoping to get back on the trail tomorrow. I’m not sure if it’s a good idea though.
– ansel