pitter patter

day 22

hiked today: 6.3
hiked total: 339.9
to katahdin: 1838.4

Pitter, patter. That is what we woke up to. The rain drops dripping on the tin roof made a 5:30 wake up easier than usual. The weather has been much warmer lately which means we have been going into deeper sleeps. I have two lighter bags (started off with one 30 degree bag but very quickly realized it was too cold and got another) and I just slept inside one last night. It wasn't raining terribly outside, and after yesterday, it was fine. We got packed and set up breakfast before we headed out to Erwin, TN. Our hot drinks actually stayed hot this morning much to our surprise. We were so unprepared for the steamy hotness, that andy burned his mouth badly enough that he can still feel it now.

We knew it was going to be a quick hike as most of it was downhill as is common before a town, so we headed out just before 7. We hiked to town in just about 2 hours and 15 mins -- thats how excited to get out of the rain we were. We got down to Uncle Johnny's Outfitter/Hostel where we checked in and grabbed a few supplies (fuel, candy, etc.) We contemplated a work for stay, but we haven't had a real break in a while, and even though we hiked this morning, we still consider today a restful day. So we decided to pay the $15 for the night, and brought our packs inside. It's a pretty nice hostel actually, our beds are right by the computer and about 10 feet from the fireplace. Johnny brought us into town with a guy named Lance who is staying here for a month. He's a really nice guy; we talked about food, beer, the trail, NYC, Philly, museums, etc. Once we resupplied our food, and got some stuff for tonight, we headed back to relax. Once we got back, we sat around and talked, watched a movie, took showers, and just enjoyed not hiking. We weighed ourselves today, and I have surprisingly lost no weight. I am still between 168-170, while Andy has dropped 10lbs and is at 176.

There is a grill here, so tonight we will cook up some steaks and veggies and go to bed. We probably won't do our normal 8am start, but thats alright. Unfortunately, again, as is common with leaving town, tomorrow we have a lot of up hill and, it is supposed to snow. HOWEVER, our next real stop is Damascus, VA which is home of Trail Days (the biggest AT shin-dig, party, flat out crazy fest) and just shy 50 miles of the 1/4 marker! So that is a big mark. Andy will be picking up some stuff that his parents sent to the post office there, and we will be taking a FULL zero day.

Time to grill some steaks and relax.

oh, I also got some girl scout cookies today! I love thin mints.