Date: 2006-10-08
From: moreland gap shelter

To: dennis cove, kincora hostel
Miles today: 6.1

======2003====== thursday, march 27, day 34(no entry)======2006======friday, march 17, day 34 (13.6 miles from watauga to iron mtn. shelter)this may be our coldest night yet....we got out at 6:30 this a.m.....so we completed our ¢scheduled¢ miles early....(by about 1:30, i think)...we maybe should¢ve hiked on, but a sobo hiker from atlanta (ken) came by and said this spot was less windy than where he had hiked from.....we¢ve been fighting the wind and cold all day....it¢s crazy!....by bob¢s predictions (the forecast out of atlanta), it should¢ve been clear and in the 50¢s (predicted 20¢s for tonite, though).....but today was pretty much gray-ish and cold......i¢ve been really having trouble getting warm here this afternoon....it¢s kinda scary.....but, as i said, this guy came by and i think just sitting up talking has taken my mind off the cold (and the time) and i¢m feelin¢ a little better...we¢re getting closer to supper-time now and that means HOT dinner and then finally snuggling warmly in next to paw-ee for the night....(i think we still have some ¢hotties¢.....those should help warm us up!)......we¢ll have about 16 miles tomorrow....i hope it¢s a little warmer......i thought coming into camp early would be nice for a change....i was gonna just spend a lazy afternoon readin¢ my bible.....but it¢s just plain ol¢ been too cold.....right now i¢m warmin¢ up a little, though, so i think i may try to cook supper (guess it¢ll be inside, however, away from the wind)....i¢ve already decided that for our planned ¢0¢ day in damascus, if we stay at dave¢s (as we did last time) and he doesn¢t have heat yet or hot water, we¢ll try somewhere else...(or go buy a little heater at the dollar store!)....i really can¢t see spending our ¢off¢ day in uncomfortably cold conditions....we¢ve not had a day off since fontana* and i think my body is ready for some rest.....i¢ve got this little bit of a cold....some congestion in my chest...so i think it would be good to stop and heal a little...i¢m also very ¢hungry¢....not for town food, but to just kick back and have some time to be still and meditate on the Lord¢s Word....hope i¢m not getting my expectations too high for damascus....a rest will definitely help though, because we will be carrying out 6 days of food and supplies and that kind of a load is always difficult (i¢d rather go out with about 4)...i¢ve heard the highlands got a ton of snow,too (41 inches?)...so i¢m sure it¢s not all melted and we may have the extra work of trudging through ice and snow....anyway, i¢m rambling....probably because i¢m stalling about getting¢ out from under this warm blanket!....but that supper won¢t cook itself...sooooo......oh...speaking of suppers......last night¢s could¢ve used more water....or, really...probably less food...it was beans and greens.....i don¢t think pintos rehydrate as readily as other beans....so they were a little stiff.....but i couldn¢t really taste anything anyway because of my cold.... we did have that raw onion which was VERY strong (and i DID taste that!)....i think tonite is a mexican dish...YEA!....but i really don¢t care as long as it¢s HOT!....looks like it might be tryin¢ to clear off.....guess that means even more cold.....the lake below us today was AWESOME as we hiked along the ridge.....it was like ¢shining from shook foil¢*......though there was no sunshine on the mountaintop, a sunny feeling was produced due to the ¢white hot¢ lake reflecting its glory to the upward slopes.....i took pictures*, but i don¢t know that they will fully capture the eerie, yet powerfully magical feel of a gray morning shimmering with mirrored water (reflecting the sunlight which managed to escape the low clouds somehow)...and the faraway, silhouetted pines on tiny islands ¢drifting¢ here and there on the lake....it was really QUITE beautiful! (especially for a ¢gray¢ morning)...i also saw something really unusual today i have never seen before...(paw noticed it, too)....as i climbed up the ridge, i stepped to set my foot up on the root of a tree.... but before i ¢landed¢, i dodged a bit.....for there on the ground, ¢puddling¢ at the root of the tree was a purplish sort of granular ¢dust¢....i at first thought it was perhaps some sort of fungus, but when i punched it just a little with my stick, it started to ¢swarm¢ like ants or something.....it wasn¢t ants, however....i don¢t know what it was....just purple, moving dust!.....well....i really MUST go cook our supper now...........i told the Lord today, i really do want to SEEK HIS kingdom out here.....*NOTES/ OBSERVATIONS/COMPARISONS*no days off since fontana....in ¢03 we took zero days about every 100 miles....ended up with 19 zeros for the entire thru-hike.....not so this year....we always seemed to feel well enough to keep hiking (at least until we got to waynesboro, va....more on that later)*¢shining with shook foil¢....a line from a favorite poem we had carried with us called ¢God¢s Grandeur¢, by gerard manly hopkins....his poems have a unique sound and are best read aloud.....his environmental/creation themes are especially good....*pictures of the ¢white hot¢ lake.......see our photo album.....click on journal ¢list¢ above....go to ¢iron mountain shelter¢.....click on photo there of ¢paw-ee under his umbrella in the snow¢ and then click ¢next¢ for 4 or 5 more photos of this beautiful area near watauga lake....