Date: 2008-02-26
From: Hiawassee Inn - Hiawassee GA 

To: Muskrat Shelter NC
Miles today: 11.7

Day 9 ¢ Tuesday, February 26 ¢ Muskrat Shelter NC ¢ Miles Today: 11.7 Total Miles: 79.2We had a wonderful pizza dinner last night with the Hiawassee Inn owners, Ron and Sam. We had to chuckle over the cast of characters who run this motel. When we called to make reservations we talked to who we thought was an older lady and an older man, so our perception was that we would be staying at a motel run by an older married couple in their retirement years. Well, it's a couple that runs it all right, but they're not as old as we thought and their names are Ron and Sam. (As Jerry Seinfield would say, ¢Not that there¢s anything wrong with that!). They also have a very characteristic lady, Lisa, who helps clean rooms and shuttle hikers back and forth. The motel comes complete with a couple permanent residents. One of which is the town drunk and another one is a man who doesn't look like he has shaved his beard or brushed his teeth in perhaps 50 years. Everybody was very nice and the hospitality was super. About 6:00 a.m. this morning in our motel room, we awoke to thunder and lightning. The forecast called for thunderstorms this morning and then snow tonight. Hmm, so far, the forecast is correct. Ron, the owner, pounded on our door about 7:00 and was already suggesting to us that we delay our departure a few hours to stay out of the storm. He's really quite the mother hen for the hikers. We said we'd be over in about 45 minutes for breakfast and see what the weather looked like at that point in time. We had a great sendoff breakfast of cereal, toast and jam, and hard-boiled eggs to take with us. You can¢t ask for more than that!Luckily, the rain had moved through by the time we finished breakfast, so we kept with our normal departure time from the motel of 8:30. We were hiking by 9:00. It was not long before we were hiking for the very first time in shorts and T-shirts! However, since we're still in Georgia, it was short-lived. A few sprinkles followed by a light rain sent us dashing for our rain gear and pack covers before we got too wet. We put them on and off for a while as the rain started/stopped, but eventually the rain gear stayed on for the rest of the day as 50 - 60 mph wind gusts arrived (maybe more on the open ridgeline up to the shelter) along with a good 30 mph steady wind.   The temperatures were warm; the wind was a bit chilly, but overall it really wasn't too bad. For lunch, Grasshopper made a burrito sandwich of peanut butter, hemp seed and hard-boiled egg. It was most delicious. I think everybody should add it to their personal menu.As we hiked closer to Muskrat Shelter, our stop for the night, we discussed game plan options since they are calling for the huge winds to continue through the night. With the risk of trees or limbs falling, tenting would not be a good idea.   We weren't quite sure which angle the shelter would be in regard to the direction of the storm.   We arrived at the shelter about 4:00 to find Piper, Jay, Coffee Cat and Dave already there. They squeezed in room for us. We're all going to be cozy in the shelter tonight waiting for the snow flurries to arrive.   Our first night in a shelter!The big milestone for today is that we finished Georgia and we are now into North Carolina, which welcomed us with the huge winds and also a huge incline. Not too good of a welcome for our home state. We'll have to see if they improve upon it in the future weeks. It's just after 5:00 and the winds are definitely calmer. It's very foggy. Everybody has eaten, hung their food bags and are now hunkered down in their sleeping bags for the night to stay warm. So guess we'll sign off. Hopefully won't have too much snow tomorrow. Goodnight. Still having a blast, this time in North Carolina.