Date: 2010-04-26
From: Apple Orchard

To: Overmountain Shelter
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: light rain

Woke up to the sound of my tents first rain storm on the trail. She held up well! Little condensation but for the most part, everything stayed dry. Pitched her nice and hard! Orchard in valley without wind.Woke at day break and packed up while still inside my tent. Plenty of room in the vestibule. Lots of people complain about the Contrails room. Not me. Only needed to pack my tent and food before getting out into the storm. Slept in rain gear/thermals and was actually warm!Leaving felt even funnier than the night before. D©j vu. Saw two orange salamanders in the same location as last year! The trail is so familiar to me here! Remembered the spot where the South Bounder asked about what time it was. Saw three Does and spooked them before I had seen them. They move with such gracefulness! Effortless motion. It's amazing how quick they are yet extremely silent motion. I like the sign I saw in a shelter the other day, it read, "Hunger is the best sauce!"Stopped at Clyde Branch Shelter and didn't see the place where the hornets attacked me. Maybe it was that old dead tree stump? Escaped the wind and rain at the shelter for a while with Yahtzee, Guda and Abel. I LOVE my oatmeal with strawberries!!! Dutchess, Ice, Boss and Not Bad came in next. I got my water and met Spring Kat at the shelter trailhead. We hiked together for a while.I've been carrying marshmallows for trail magic later! I've been carrying them since Erwin, just for when we get to Overmountain Shelter. I was hoping the weather would be nice and we could have a fire. I made it a point to tell the people that I like on the trail, to stop and stay at Overmountain. It's beautiful on a clear day!I remembered where Lish and I saw the weird, high class, out-of-place SUV sitting at the foot of Roan Mtn. I could remember the sharp turns and steep inclines. I remembered how I questioned my resolve then. Almost a year ago I decided to go on this trip. Even now, even after getting here from Georgia, I still question my ability. I remember how it felt looking forward to this point in time. Now I rejoice that I left to come back here. I knew then, like I know now that this has to be done. Because I could, can and will do it!Cold, windy and wet climb up Roan Mtn. This mountain is quite the lunge machine. Knee high leg lifts make me thankful for a light backpack. Roan Shelter was full of sick people. We're calling it the "Nolichucky's" I think it's a virus. Puking. Squirts. I made some coffee outside in the cold, wind until the sicko's left. Drank some boiling hot water via Spring Kat's gas stove. My alcohol stove is worthless up this high. I shared my coffee with him. I ate two frozen snickers bars! Sooooo good! Having fun though! So fun to compare my legs then to my legs now. Machines! They're robotic! Spring Kat has such a good pace for an older gentleman. He kept me reserved for the long haul today.It became warmer as we got closer to 5000ft with less fog and wind. Engulfed in haze up Round and Jane balds. Bummer! This was a lot more fun with a hand full of blue berries back in August. Thankful for cool temperatures compared to the heat and humidity back in August. Smiled thinking about how it's going to feel similar in New England! Exposed. No trees or cover. Met Holy Smoke and Hot Pocket. Saw Wizard and Doyle just ahead. Nettles replaced by RAMPS! We've been eating them all the time! My left hand is filthy with dirt from digging them up. Told everyone about Overmountain. So excited to see it. I knew to get water BEFORE getting to the shelter! Haha! I feel so old and salty here!Nemo, Stitches and Seeker were already there. Spring Kat next. Tomato. Dutchess, Boss, Ice, Not Bad, Holy Smoke, and Hot Pocket. Abel and Guda and Yatzee.I ate sausage, potatoes, 4 cheese sauce, stick cheese, MARSHMELLOW TRAIL MAGIC!, snickers, and 4 slices of bacon. Tried to give Spring Kat some potatoes and cheese because he's low on food. Thunder, Stretcher, Brooklyn, and Daytripper showed up next. It's a full shelter! Almost. 30 degrees and COOOLD, WINDY AND hazy. Ice, Not Bad and Brooklyn got to see the views briefly when the wind cleared the fog. People really appreciated me telling them how hard Roan was. They were so geared up for it, that they flew over it and were surprised that it was easier than expected. That's good. Wished they could have seen the views today. I'd been praying they'd get a chance to see. Some people want to come back to see it. Redo.Kincora in two days? Plenty of food now. So cold outside of my sleeping bag. Dry Clean and Studmuffin in last. Typical. They're drenched! Soooo comfy now after my meal and laying in my bag. Chit-chatting going on, but mostly everyone is quiet and still.