Date: 2016-03-25
From:  N of Elk Garden

To: N of Dickey Gap
Miles today: 25.5
Weather: moderate rain

It was one of those mornings that you just didn't want to get out of bed. You wanted to just keep laying there, for another hour or so...Primarily because of the rain. The weatherman predicted it and he was oh so right, dern it. The rain came gently tapping at our tent around 5:00am. Soon it was knocking and then it was downright pounding on our poor little tent. It's hard to want to jump right out of bed and get outside and going in those circumstances. Which is why we hung out in the tent for an additional forty-five minutes and let things calm down a bit.It made me think of Grandma Gatewood.   She was a fiesty older woman who hiked the AT solo back in the day when women stayed home and watched the kids and men had all the adventure.   She hiked with a ruck sack for a pack. I think it was a cloth potato bag with a draw string, a shower curtain for a tent and she wore Keds tennis shoes long before trail runners were in vogue. Will and I read a biography on her a couple of years ago, before we had even given any thought to hiking the AT ourselves. It turns out that Grandma Gatewood had a pretty tough life. Her husband was very abusive and beat her so severely on several occasions that he knocked the teeth out of her head. I guess hiking 2,100 plus miles seemed like a vacation after the experiences she endured at home. One of the things she is famous for saying when she was asked if it was terribly hard to hike the AT at her age, she was in her 60's when she did it, was stating that it wasn't that hard, but that most Americans were 'panty waists' and weren't used to hard work. I wondered if Grandma Gatewood would consider me a 'panty waist' for waiting 45 minutes before I started hiking in the rain, or if she would think I was a tough AT hiker because I was out hiking the AT even in the rain. Well, my rain gear is a good sight better than a shower curtain, so maybe I wouldn't get good marks from her after all. We had a rain/fog combo going on as we hiked this morning. We were headed toward the Grayson Highlands where there are supposed to be some great views.   This is also home to several herds of wild ponies that they use to keep the grasses in the area at a reasonable height.   We were hoping the rain and fog wouldn't ruin our chances at taking in the views and catching a glimpse of the wild ponies.When we got up there, it was still foggy so the views were limited.   But we did see several of the cute little ponies.   Will was able to get a couple pictures so that was good. As the day went on the rain ceased and the sun started to peak out from behind the clouds. It turned into a very nice day really. We passed the Comers Water Fall. Small but pretty. We had determined to hike a bit longer today so that we can make it into our resupply stores and restaurants near Atkins Virginia tomorrow. We cooked a hot dinner at Dickies Gap and then hiked another mile or so. That's when we found this very flat spot on an old road and set up camp. A bit of a rough start but all in all a nice day of hiking. So, I'm going to turn in for tonight. Catch you later. Road Runner