oy vey

so just an update:

Andy's dad commented on my last post saying the weather is supposed to be bad the next day or two which was confirmed by the hostel owner. He actually did so much as to call us and tell us that if we wanted to stay he would only make us pay $6 (instead of $15) for tomorrow. It's supposed to be a low of 16, snow all day, and have 20 mph winds tomorrow. The following day it will just be the cold. So we decided to wait it out a day and keep our stuff as dry as possible. The cold doesn't really scare us, as we have dealt with that, but the wet mixed with cold is what really eats at your soul. So far all our zero days have been due to weather and exhaustion due to weather, so we eagerly await warmer climates.

we may have pushed through if we weren't in a dry county every single town we stopped off at and could get something warming to end the day with! Hush mother... and yea yea yea, I can see your eyes rolling Ms. Balkind/Adler (my junior k teacher.)

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.

Rain rain and fog

Day 21

Hiked today: 17.6
Hiked total: 333.6
To katahdin: 1844.7

We woke to no rain. However, once we got out of the tent and started packing, it started to sprinkle. When we were eating breakfast, it started to rain. It stayed like that for about 8 miles. We were soaked. There was a lot of up hill today, and we started off by saying we wished we were there and in our tent already, but as my family friend Lan told me, "the more you experience, the more you accept on your own terms." so with that and a picture in my head of summitting katahdin, we trucked on.

It was very muddy and very windy in some spots, and once the rain stopped it wasn't a half bad day. We actually saw a white tailed deer! That makes for the 3rd wildlife spotting next to a ruffled neck grouse and a turkey. We see lots of bobcat tracks though.

Anyway, today was fairly smooth sailing. We have less than 7 miles into town, and then we will take a half day (more like 2/3rds day) in Erwin.
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Spelling

By the way, for those of you who don't know, I do most of these post from my phone. Sometimes it does funky things and the word will either be very misspelled or just wrong. So just keep that in mind while reading, I seldom proof read.
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Donnas Country Kitchen

Day 20

Hiked today:17.8
Hiked tota: 316.0
To katahdin: 1862.3

We broke 300 miles! That was good news. We woke up to downright balmy weather. We weren't shivering as we changed and our hot chocolate/coffee mix was warm for more than 5 minutes! It started sprinkling though so we got in our rain gear. About half hour into the hike we got to hot and it pretty much stopped raining. It was a pretty difficult day though -- lots of up hill. It started warming up which was great. The sun shone its warming glorious light on us for most of the hike (I've missed the sun incase you couldn't tell.) so much so that I was in shorts and a tshirt! It was very nice. Considering Andy has lost most feeling in his thumbs for the past week or so, I think its safe to say he qa happy too (although there's still no feeling in them.)

We got to our destination which was I-26 about 3:45. There was a diner 3 miles down it where we wanted to eat so started walking and throwing out our thumbs anytime someone went by. We walked about a mile and a nice guy named Bill picked us up. Ironically he owns some of the land we were bordering a few miles back. We drive a little ways and he tells us we are in TN not NC -- the diner is in NC. He was nice enough to go back and drive is the right way!

We finally get there after a close call of having a very bad day and order our food from a woman named Sonyah. I had 2 cheese burgers, slaw, baked potato, and a large salad, while Andy had a Philly steak, cheeseburger, cheese and bacon fries, slaw, and chicken fries. It was delicious. Our cook was Myra and we were very happy she was. They were nice enough to give us a ride back to the trail after the place closed (not before buying a pint of Ben and Jerrys though.) we said our good byes and started up the trail in the dark. We walked a little and found a flat place around the trail and pitched the tent, ate our pints, hung our food, and now we are relaxing within ear shot of the highway on one side and very squeeky trees on the other. Its windy and not supposed to be nice weather for the next few days. However, the weather forcast changes in a heartbeat down here.

Good night and thank goodness for good restaurants on the trail! Well near it.

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Sickly and tired

Day 19

Hiked today:15.4
Hiked total: 298.2
To katahdin: 1880.1

We planned to wake up early today but when the alarm went off we both agreed to sleep until our normal time.

We got up, packed, and ate breakfast then headed out. We had planned to do a 21 mile day today but after about 4 miles it was apparent our bodies did not want to, not to mention there was a lot of uphill.

We passed food and a hostel that was half a mile off the trail before we had realized we weren't going to be able to do all 21 miles. Soon after that, we started feeling woozy, light headed, and as if we were dragging ourselves. My vision was a little blurred at times, and today was the first day this trip I was sore.

At lunch, we decided to go 6 miles less. We thought it was for the best and at our slower pace it would have been dark when we got there.

Not too long after we ate, we came across a fork in the trail. One said 'bad weather trail' and the other said 'exposed ridge trail.' We took the ridge, and I must say it was pretty cool. It was about 8 feet wide, and we could see off both sides. One side had the flattest terrain we have seen yet, while the other was mountainous. About this time is when we started feeling better. I guess we sweated out what ever was in us. I just hope we aren't getting sick. It was also apparent we weren't going to get the 21 miles because of all the climbing we had to do, so it ended up being ok.

We plan to push a little extra tomorrow and the day after and camp right outside of Erwin, TN and the next morning spend the day and night there to have a half zero day. It was either push it a couple days and rest for a full day, or spread it out and rest there for a half day. Basically days wise it works out to be the same.



Time for rummy and then bed.

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Ps

There is a really annoying mouse at this shelter running around. Andy already broke (and fixed) his sleeping bag swatting little bodies off our tent.
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