RATtreks

21st Annual Brown Gap Hiker’s Feast – April 27 – 29, 2012

Another annual hiker’s feast has came and gone at Brown Gap and what a grand time it was ! This was the 21st one of its kind that has been done there since it started in 1990. There was at least 50+ thru-hikers that were lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time whom most of them ended up staying the entire weekend to enjoy the mass quantities of assorted foods, fruits, snacks, and drinks that were provided for them. This is not your average ‘hiker feed’ that is typically found along the Appalachian Trail but rather an upgraded and highly refined feast that is the largest and longest running trail magic ever found in one spot. Details on its origins can be seen in a previous blog here. It is always held in late April approx. 3 weeks before the Trail Days celebration which is about how long it takes the average hiker to hike from Brown Gap to Trail Days in Damascus, Virginia.

Four Ring Hiker Circus ?

My friend Franklin ‘OX’ LaFond got there on Thursday night with the bulk of the supplies he hauls in the big Tennessee trailer and I came down later with my part on Saturday due to having to play a show Friday night. The weather was really good and we had a great time meeting some wonderful people from all over the world including Belgium, Australia, and Iraq, just to mention a few. There was breakfast, lunch, and supper provided on each day except for Sunday when we pack it up and leave in the late afternoon after the last lunch hiker is served.

Open for business !

snack table

My son Tyler handing out deviled eggs from the 'Magic Box' to the incoming hikers

OX flipping some lunch burgers on the grille

OX flipping Ribeye steaks on the grille

There were some talented musicians there as well, some of which were carrying their own guitars so we had some good times around the fire singing songs and telling stories. There was also plenty of ‘Manna‘ (dessert made by RAT) to go around for dessert as well as the legendary ‘Trail Beans‘ (also made by RAT) . We also had help again this year from Shelly and her husband Mike and, this time the baby was outside of her belly ! (she was pregnant at last years event)  They set up a cornhole game which was a lot of fun. It is the help and generosity of others that makes this event possible.

Saturday Evening Supper

Saturday Evening Supper

Happy Hikers

Campfire

Campfire

My son Tyler helped out again this year and for that I am thankful. Although we did not get a chance to hike to Max Patch he did hike almost to it as well as many other trails in the area during the course of the weekend. I did hike with him on some of the Rube Rock Trail and then over to the  Hawks Roost which is South on the trail up the hill that overlooks Brown Gap and the 6,700 acre watershed and land management area there. We met an older gentleman (‘Sixty “65” Five’) near there that was thru hiking from Key West Florida to Canada via the AT. He was happy to hear what was waiting below for him in the gap. We took a short cut off trail, straight down the ridge from the Hawks Roost back to the gap.

Hawks Roost

View from the Hawks Roost

Thru-Hiker 'Sixty"65" Five' going from Key West to Canada

There were nothing but happy hikers with smiling faces and full bellies the entire weekend:

Hikers lined up for chow

Smiling faces in the chow line

Happy Hikers !

Happy Hiker !

Hiker heavily focused on lunch

Maybe I should hike,,,,,,,Or Not !!!!

It was over way too quickly and leaving is always a hard thing to do but, we did stop and check out an awesome waterfall near the end of the road that I have been wanting to do for many years now. What better than camping in the woods feeding hikers and seeing waterfalls eh ? They were very nice and I hope to come back in the future to explore more trails and waterfalls in this area.These falls have several tiers, a lower set, a middle set and a really nice upper part that can`t be seen until you climb up to them. Of course, they are all very hidden from the road and you must cross the creek over a log to get the view.

Lower part of falls (Find OX)

Lower part of falls

Middle part of falls

Middle part of falls

Next part of falls above middle section but not quite to the top part

Top part of falls

Top part of falls

OX at the top part of the falls

Upper part of falls

Although I had some repairs made to the van to fix an oil leak just before the trip, it became apparent that it was still leaking and we were very low on oil for the trip back and ended up having to get OX to take us to get some after seeing the waterfall. This seemed to help but about halfway home Tyler and I had a blowout on the left rear tire and discovered the tools we had were not the right ones to remove the tire. This was not good but we managed to limp down the emergency lane for another mile or so to the next exit where we borrowed some tools to change the tire. This is when we discovered the spare had a huge split and knot on part of it so we did not expect to make it very far then we would be stranded once again.This also made me late for work. We got some phone numbers for local towing companies and headed down a small two lane road that leads the back way into Greeneville, TN. and to our disbelief we ended up making it all the way home at about 30 mph ! I have since put new tires on the van and fixed the oil leak in preparation for Trail Days in May.

Tire that blew out

Spare tire that had huge knot and was split in several places

All in all it was a great weekend and we made some good friends and I cant wait until next year when hopefully the 22nd Annual Brown Gap Hiker`s Feast will once again spread joy and smiles across the faces of some very lucky thru-hikers.

RAT and OX

To see the complete set of photo`s for this event, please visit our photo gallery here.