4/15

The storm ran deep into the night. It fell continuously alternating from a heavy pour to a sprinkle. The metal roof of the shelter I managed to stay in, echoed loudly as the rain fell. I faded in and out of sleep all night in accordance with the storm. Morning came and I felt pretty good. I managed to get something stuck in my eye the night before, thankfully by morning it had been ousted. I woke up before anyone else in the shelter and started getting ready to go quickly. My consistent strategy for getting up every morning.

Get up. 

 pack up everything but food and sleeping pad.

Eat peanut butter slathered bar of some sort.

Drink an incredulous amount of water. 

Snack on anything within arms length that doesn't require cooking (optional).

Finish packing.

Head north. 

The day itself was a very beautiful day at the start. The day before had held light rain patches throughout the day. Without any phone connectivity, I thought today would hold a very similar promise as far as temperature. I left the shelter by 8 wearing nothing but shorts, a T-shirt, and a rain jacket. By 11am I had made it  8.7

miles and felt as though I was about to freeze  During the few hours I had been hiking, the temperature had managed to drop significantly. The storm from the day before had also managed to linger, dropping freezing rain and sleet. When I arrived at the shelter I was cold, wet, and hungry. I managed to change into all dry clothes and cook a nice hot lunch. The pinnacle was pulling out my sleeping bag at noon and curling up making sure that I stayed warm. I had serious worry about getting sick, something  I haven't felt at all this entire trip. The last 2 miles before the shelter I began losing feelings in my hands. The sting of sleet on my face did not add to the day at all either, only bringing further misery on a day I thought would be clearer than previous. 

After waiting almost an hour, some of my thru hiker brethren that I have continuously seen for the last week or so, began showing up at the shelter. Not a single soul passed the shelter without stopping. As more of us began to show and I lingered in my sleeping bag avoiding the frigid wind and sleet, the sleet began to thicken and fall in larger quantities at a slower pace. This was quickly becoming  a snow and freezing weather hazard. The shelter quickly became a haven for hikers trying to find phone signal and try to find some amount of foresight for the weather. Had it not been for a woman who was able to get her husband on the phone, we may have all sat huddled in that shelter all afternoon. She told us the snow was only to thicken and also it would be 20 degrees or colder. I have never really hiked with a specific group, but when situations like this arise, and you share common space with other hikers, there is a very awesome amount of comradery that goes along with it. There were 6 of us who had thought optimistic of the day, and had managed to get chilled to the bone. We needed an escape to dry out and avoid the cold weather lest we all get sick. Just over 2 miles away was a gap we learned we could get picked up from and as soon as we all gathered our wits and bundled up as best we could, we made a quick break for it. The going was very easy from the shelter to the gap. Almost all down hill the whole way, a distance that usually would have taken much longer to cover, was cleared in record time by hikers overly excited about hot showers and dry clothes. We had to spend another half hour waiting for 2 cars to come pick us up. Getting into the car was one of the most magical feelings ever. I am continuously cold on the trail the majority of the time. As soon as I stop hiking, I immediately have to put on layers. I believe I mentioned something about this earlier in my blog, but having instant heat is something that I no longer take for granted. I sat shotgun with our chauffeur in his honda ridge line (love that car). I remember getting in and pointing all the front passenger AC vents on me, without missing a beat my automobile host turned the car into full blast, and I started stripping layers like it was my job. 

A short ride into Erwin, TN landed us at a super 8. We tried getting into a hostel but because of the cold weather, many people had very similar ideas. The super 8 had a limitations on the number of people that are allowed to stay in a room. We did not get away with cramming all 6 of us into 1 room. The rooms themselves were fine. Warm and dry is all we were worried about. After we all got showers we managed to get a ride to KFC for dinner. It is at this point I must bring up the ride. Our ride came from trail angel " ms. Janet". Nashe lives in Erwin, and from what I understand about her, used to own a hostel, but now travels in a van along the trail helping hikers wherever she can. Her giant 10 or so passenger van is aptly named "the hiker box". The van is peppered with stickers and duct tape, with a giant AT painting on the front. She is truly a trail angel in the most continuous sense, as she gives out her phone number to hikers and runs the van ferrying hikers anywhere they choose to go on donations only. 

To say the least we were very excited about KFC. The excitement grew in substantial size when we learned that this particular location was all you can eat. 

I think at some point I am going to learn that all you can eat and hiking don't go together, just not any time soon. I made just enough trips back to the buffet bar to feel full but not sick. After our thorough gorging, Ms. Janet picked us up again taking us to walmart and then returning us to super 8. The remainder of the evening was spent relaxing while unpacking and repacking food. It seems harder and harder to fit all the food I buy into my bag. I have noticed that I have begun to eat a little more and combat this have begun to buy additional snack type foods. I can't always boil water and wait to cook something on the trail. Some days I need to be able to grab a handful of something and then get back to it before my muscles tighten. 

We all stayed up a little late and each ended up fading out to our respected rooms and chosen sleeping spots.