Day 33 – Meet AT legend Bob Peoples

I woke up shortly after 10pm to the sound of moderate rain pounding against my tent. A relaxing white noise that helps me sleep soundly most of the night. While there would be repercussions in the morning, they were welcome at the time.

I slept in this morning after a good night’s sleep. It was almost 7:30 am when I woke up, and after 8 am when I left my tent. The repercussions of the pleasant background noise while sleeping last night were those of packing up a wet tent this morning. Fortunately I think I have a system that works well. I just put the entire tent in the back outside pocket of my backpack and deal with it later (future problems with Brock). The package takes on a bit of a strange shape, but it seems to work fine. After a quick breakfast of caffeine electrolytes and Pop-Tarts, my current goal (although we’ll see how long it lasts), I was on the road at 9am.

A short monologue about shoes

The first mile or so was a welcome gentle descent, a good way to start the day and warm up the body. There was even a nice mix of pine needles and dead leaves on the path, leaving a soft trail on my tired feet.

Following the advice of a couple of suppliers, I went from my size 10.5 to a 12 in the new pair of shoes I bought. Same model, and as always, in width. The larger size matches the arch of my foot better, which feels good. The downside is that my foot now has room to slide a little inside the shoe, and although I no longer put my toes in the front of the shoe on descents, the movement has hit me a bit. I’m not sure if my feet will fit or not, but it makes me think about making my next pair of shoes a little smaller, like an 11 or 11.5. I don’t know, we’ll see, I guess. Everything I’ve been told and read indicates that hikers tend to need to size up their shoes as their feet flatten and grow from the time they spend on their feet, so going a little larger makes sense. But I fear and may have gone too far. Don’t get me wrong, these issues are minor in the strictest sense. I have not had any major blisters or debilitating injuries from my shoes. I’m sure that, partly through luck and partly because I tried on five different pairs of shoes last year during my prep, I found what I would call «good enough.» Minor aches and pains are likely to be expected, no matter how much walking I have and will do. But still, I seek greatness with my shoes.

Kincora Hiker Hostel and Bob Villages

The rest of the morning and early afternoon consisted of relatively gentle ups and downs for about 6 miles. It would have been even better if it hadn’t been for the sun beating down on me. Fortunately, there were some clouds that gave me a brief respite from time to time. Overall, it was a quiet part of the day, with several breaks to chat with various hikers I’ve bumped into over the course of the last few days/weeks. Shortly after reaching Mile 420, I made a small side mission to the Kinkora Hiking Lodge, a short 0.2 mile blue fire.

Kincora is unique

Kinkora is famous for being an old-school hiking lodge, owned by AT Trail legend Bob Peoples. Kinkora is a throwback to times gone by. Is it the Ritz-Carlton? No. But it has character in abundance. Character that cannot be bought or built, because it has seeped into the bones and the very soul of the building. Grown and farmed for decades, nurtured by Bob and hikers over the years. On the walls and ceiling, Bob has photos of hikers who have stopped and completed the trail for more than 25 years.

Oh, the stories these walls could tell…

When I arrived, Bob invited me to sit and have an Arizona Iced Tea with him. Fortunately, he was around. I was doing trail work just yesterday and I would have missed it. We sat and chatted for over an hour and a half. Fortunately, we had a lot to talk about and there were many shared interests. We both love history and traveling and he shared some of his travel experiences around the world. In Europe, in the Middle East, everywhere. At one point we went on a bit of a tangent about how our trips to Vietnam were very different…

Me and Bob Towns

He is certainly a unique person and, at over 80 years old, he still helps maintain the trails in the area. In fact, one of the many topics we discussed was the impressive and exhausting work he and others did to open the trail after the destruction of Hurricane Helene. Talk about a guy passionate about the AT and hiking in general. But, after spending over an hour and a half with him, I needed to move on and keep walking. Definitely an afternoon I won’t soon forget!

magic trail

Upon returning to the trail, I was immediately graced with the magic of the trail! Even though I still had 6+ miles planned for the day and it was after 4 pm, who am I to say no to some fresh fruit, cheese, Swiss rolls, and a Coke? So I gave in and recharged my energy for the last push of the day. The next few kilometers were also a pleasure!

Hike the Pond Mountain Wilderness, along the Laurel Fork River on a nice flat one-mile trail.

Brutal stairs to the falls.

Followed by a strenuous rock staircase down and finally up to see Laurel Fork Falls, which was pretty impressive!

Laurel Fork Falls

It continued for about a flat mile, continuing along the river, making for an excellent hike. This 3 mile stretch is right up there with my favorite parts of the trail so far.

The path along the river bank

It’s the climb!

But after crossing a couple of bridges, the fun ended. Reminiscent of Miley Cyrus’ 2009 hit pop song, the next section could best be summarized as «The Climb.» Almost 2000 feet of elevation gain in less than 3 miles, not the best way to end a really nice day! I was really tempted to save it for tomorrow, but I wanted the NERO short tomorrow at Boots Off Hostel, so I went up. Fortunately, the corners softened the tone and allowed me to get into a rhythm, but in the end I got shot anyway. Just as the sun was setting, I arrived at camp, where I was able to set up my tent, devoured some food, and called it a night. As I walked into my tent, I noticed a lot of mouse activity next to the fire pit 10 feet away. But, I’m too tired to worry right now…

Statistics for the 33rd:

16.3 miles

3,786′ ascent, 3,527′ descent

Stealth Pond Site

1 DSLC…

Stove use times: 7

This website contains affiliate links, which means The Trek may receive a percentage of any products or services you purchase using links in articles or advertisements. The buyer pays the same price they would otherwise pay, and their purchase helps support The Trek’s ongoing goal of bringing you quality backpacking information and advice. Thank you for your support!

For more information, visit the About page of this site.