Date: 2023-10-20
From: Jerrys cabin shelter 

To: Mount habour hostel
Miles today: 93.5

Day 141Cold wet night and very cold wet morning to start hiking. We got to a point where we got updated weather and found out it was going to get down to the 30's with rain, with tomorrow staying below 40 and more rain, so we changed our plans. We hiked on for the day, but decided to skip some miles and get a ride to town earlt to save some time and stay warm and dry out. Melissa's fall count: 96Beginning mile marker: 301.8Ending mile marker: 344.2Nearest city/town: erwin,tnUncle johnnys hostel 42.4 milesDay 142-143The hostel was nice to stay warm and plan for the next few days. Got some groceries yesterday and Graham picked out some steaks he grilled up which were delicious. Sitting around the hostel we met a nice man section hiking with his daughter. After asking us all about our travels and travails he put a rather substantial wad cash on the table he insisted we take to help us on the journey. The generosity of some people on trail is amazing. The weather was comfortable in Erwin, but as soon as we climbed that first mountain, the temperature dropped. It was foggy and cold all day but no rain. We made it to a campsite, had dinner and boiled more water just to hold to stay a little warmer. Supposed to get very cold overnight and into the morning, but then supposed to warm up. Melissa's fall count: 97Beginning mile marker: 344.2Ending mile marker: 356.5Nearest city/town: erwin,tnStealth site 12.3 milesDay 144Woke up to a cold morning but warmed up to a warmer, sunny day. It was the most sun we'd seen in days. Had lunch at cherry gap shelter and met a nice retired couple who lived in the area out day hiking. They gave us dark almond chocolates, yum!! Hiked up to Little Rock Knob at 4800 feet and found a cute little tentsite to sleep. We saw a bit of the sunset, most of it was obscured by trees. Should get the sunrise peaking through the trees in the morning too.  Melissa's fall count: 97Beginning mile marker: 356.5Ending mile marker: 371.8Nearest city/town: erwin,tnStealth site 15 .3 milesDay 145It was a bit of a warmer start to the day, but it was all downhill so it got chilly pretty quickly, followed by a hard hike up to Roan mountain where we saw the first bits of snow. With several miles up it climbed back above 6,000ft. We had lunch at the shelter up top that was near old remnants of a 1900's resort. We lost the sun to clouds. And even inside the 4-walled shelter both our thermometer and the one mounted inside were reading a bit below 40 and getting windy outside. Therefore, hiking down after lunch just started to get colder and colder, so we decided to get a ride at Carver Gap and get into a hostel. The forecast was for some rain overnight, with 1-2 inches of rain tomorrow. It's just so hard to mentally stick it out when the weather is miserable. Drenched and cold is no fun at best, dangerous at worst.  Melissa's fall count: 97Beginning mile marker: 371.8Ending mile marker: 395.3Nearest city/town: roan,tnMount habor hostel 23.5 milesDay 146I'm glad we got off trail, it did rain a lot overnight and it would've been soo cold up there. We stayed at Mountain Harbor Hostel which is known for having the best breakfast on trail and it did not disappoint. Full spread of quiches, souffles, bruschetta,French toast, biscuits & gravy, potato casserole, roasted potatoes, strudel, sausage, ham, etc,etc¢¦ we stuffed our faces and packed a little extra out for lunch.