Date: 2013-11-24
From: Stecoah Gap, just past TN143

To: Nantahala Outdoor Center
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: clear sky

The Beginning of a Dream: Badonk's First BlazeThis is Fun for a Day or Two - Click picture to see full sizeI Love a Good Adventure Happy Campers - Click picture to see full sizeBEEMAN!!!! We loved hearing from you! Please send us your email. We'd love to come see you. The offer to visit us stands as well. How far did you get on the AT?If y'all have been reading this blog you might remember our hiking friend BeeMan. He is a internationally known bee keeper. He was so fascinating to talk to. We are delighted that he found us here. Also many thanks for sharing your bucket lists. We have just loved reading them. It makes our evenings on the trail entertaining. Thanks everyone. It gives us a happy feeling about hikers and the supportive culture we all share. Okay so we woke up after 14 hours of sleeping bag time. Actually one of us finally caught the other two peeking around. No more pretend sleeping. We lay there until someone gets desperate and has to exit their warm bag in search of bladder relief. The leaves and grass were dusted in a fine white mist of ice. Our tent was lined inside with thin sheets of ice from condensation. We put our boots in a plastic bag in the tent but they were still frozen. Someone told us it was 21 degrees. The day was sunny which made everything sparkle. The sun really makes us happy and able to handle anything. That's what we thought until we got on a 2 1/2 mile straight up on slippery, wet leaves. Like a Bruce Springsteen song it was "one step up and two steps back." Finally we got to a warm opening up on Cheoah Bald. There was a warm log and a gorgeous view of the surrounding mountain ranges. We spent 2 hours eating and laughing about our uphill rage. We were so grumpy about that climb. After all we've been through its absurd that one little climb ticks us off. Also our fingers and toes were cold so we reckoned that added to our moods. A little warmth from the sun and we are back to our cheery selves. We rocked out the 6 mile descent in 1 1/2 hour, which is pretty good considering the wet or frozen leaves and a kid with only one hiking pole due to her casted arm. We got to the Nantahala Outdoor Center and headed right to the restaurant. We'd heard from other hikers about how good it is. There were so many vegetarian choices we were out of our minds. We sat at a table that looked out over the Nantahala river. Three SOBOs were there and we had a great time seeing them. We were just overjoyed because Grandma and Grandpa were on their way from Bradenton to pick us up. When we saw them we jumped up and just couldn't stop hugging them. It just means so much to us that they came all this way to keep us warm and help us finish. We will always hold these memories so dear of all of you amazing trail angels...our support crew. Grandma and grandpa took us to a warm and cozy hotel. We got showers, heat and clean sheets. This will help us knock out our final miles. We have 143 miles, an auspicious number for my brother and sister-in-law. It means "I love you" in numerical form. He actually had it made into a necklace for her. Nice! Sweet dreams for us. ZZZZZ!