Date: 2013-11-14
From: Roaring Fork Shelter

To: Davenport Gap
Miles today: 17.8

We could hardly sleep in our little tent pitched in the snow, not due to the cold but rather because of the bright luminous moon. It was so spectacularly glowing it lit up the snow and reflected into our tent. We could have read by the light. The night sky was a purplish color of pure clarity. There wasn't any wind blowing, no more leaves falling thus making for a completely silent evening. It was one of those moments of perfect beauty that you know you will always remember and hold dear in your mind. When we finally emerged from the tent at 9am it was only 26 degrees. Thankfully it was sunny again. Last night we slept temperatures that dipped into the teens. We stuck our feet in our plastic-lined backpacks and that worked perfectly. Just to clarify, some people are under the delusion that we are actually hiking in flip flops thus risking frostbite. Fortunately we value our toes and have taken appropriate actions to keep them toasty and safe. We had frozen socks and frozen boots. Luckily we carry lots of extra socks but not boots. To really experience life fully you outta put on solidly frozen boots at least once! Badonkadonk's actually cracked. I was hoping the coolness would help my tendinitis but scrapping the hardened leather over my heel just about turned me into a Coyote with all my yelping. We knew all we had to do today was hike down to Whoops! and her warm car. She is taking us back to Tampa for Cub's cast removal and a family wedding. We will head back to the trail on Sunday. A generous friend is going to take care care of us through the Smokies. I can't wait to hike them and show the girls where I spent my youth. Terry showed me the AT in the Smokies when I was 18 yrs old. We hike many of its trails. It feels like coming home for me. I hope my girls have endearing memories that last throughout their lives of his special time we spent with each other. We are so excited to be so close to the finish. We hiked from Roaring Fork shelter to Davenport Gap where Whoops! was waiting. We ran to her, hugging and laughing. She brought us scuppernong juice...a real Southern treat. The hike today was beautiful, especially the two miles after I-40 towards Davenport Gap. We hiked next to a never-ending cascading waterfalls. I'd hope to return to this portion and Watauga Dam area during the Spring one day. Today Badonkadonk got ahead of us and made a trail of snowmen. The girls love playing in the snow. I think we are just water people no matter what form it takes. We made our own slurpees all day. God answered our prayers for manna again. We've missed slurpees the most. Oh, our boots, they thawed as we walked and we forgot all about them. I did have a few big banana peel slips, not on the snow parts but the thick leaves. I have a bruised hand and sore arm and shoulder but again I'm just relieved that it's not more serious and we can keep going. Our plan is to take it one day at a time. The weather can change quickly so we will evaluate it as we go. We have lots of offers of slack packing and support. Several hiker friends ahead of us are sending is info as they go. We hope to hike as many miles as we can per these short days so that if rain comes we can zero. Cold rain is one form of water we don't like to play in. Will let everyone know how Cub's arm is doing after the cast removal. Will be so weird to dress up for a wedding. I'm sure we won't be sticking these feet in high heels! Hopefully we return to the trail for warmer weather like a ranger told us to expect next week.