The Hump Mountain Mystery Diarrhea

We arrived at the Overmountain Shelter, which is an old barn that hikers are able to use as a shelter. As the storm passed we hung our soaked clothing along the rafters to dry. We found a 12pack of Yuengling beer that someone had left for hikers and drank them, and all settled in for a nap. We all seemed worn out from the rain and wind, and only woke to make dinner and go back to bed. That night cold wind snuck up between the wooden floor boards and nipped my cheeks as I tried to sleep.

As we woke and dressed in the morning, our clothing almost dry, almost frozen, I left the barn first. I was greeted with a snowy wonderland upon leaving the barn. I dressed in all my layers and set out for the Hump Mountains. Little Hump and Hump Mountain were a steady climb where I was sweating in my layers but frozen all the same. The wind seemed to be back with full force and instead of rain today, snowy ice was the trail’s weapon of choice. My fingers and toes felt sticky and frostbitten, but I had to keep going. I had sent my gloves home in Erwin and was really regretting it as my fingers turned pink then white. Halfway up the climb, I saw a hot pile of human diarrhea directly on the trail. I can only imagine why and how it got there. To have to go so badly during a snowstorm, and only having enough time to pull down your pants, I tried not to judge whoever left it on the trail. It must have been a true emergency.

Once reaching the top, we snaked our way down the otherside to Roan, TN. With the drop in elevation the weather grew bearable and then pleasant. Warm sun and moderate temps greeted me when I reached the road to the hostel. We arrived and were given a free beer. We would only be staying for lunch but quickly changed our minds after a few beers and the company of the other hikers at the hostel. This was a decision I would come to regret. I was given a bunk in the large open room above the entertaining area. There were smaller rooms with fewer bunks that my tramily members had snatched up. I was unhappy with my bunk because I knew that many hikers snored. I asked kindly If I could move to a bunk out of the main room, to save myself the trouble of being woken from the symphony of snoring that was sure to happen all night. There was a rumor of another hiker named Rocket, named for the fact that he snored so loudly that he would hand out earplugs at shelter areas.

The bunkhouse manager denied my request for some confusing reason that still remains unclear to me. I believe this man was missing a few screws, and had not understood my request. I had a floor level bunk and was requesting to switch to another floor level bunk in the smaller bunk room. The bunkroom manager would not let me switch in fear that an older hiker who might not be able to climb the ladder to an upper bunk would arrive and not have a bunk. This made no sense to me because I already had a floor bunk and a one-for-one trade did not seem too much to ask. Nonetheless he denied my request and I was placed in a bunk directly adjacent to the other Rocket without realizing it at the time. That night Rocket’s snoring kept me awake all night. My nightmare became reality.