Date: 2018-03-15
From: Sassafras Gap Shelter

To: Stechoa Gap - Robinsville, NC
Miles today: 6.8
Weather: snow

We survived another cold night in the shelter. We hoped that our collective body heat would warm it up a bit, but I didn¢t notice any difference from when I first crawled in my sleeping bag around 6:30 pm and when we got up around 7 am. Cold is cold!! My sweet Next Step got up before the sun rose to make us a hot breakfast, as he does every day we¢re out on the trail!! (And let me just pause a moment here to brag on my amazing husband!!! Go ahead, those who want to can roll your eyes, but he deserves a shout out!!! On the first day of our hike I found little love notes all throughout my pack. Things like, ¢The woods are just better with you in them.¢ And I know he really feels that way! He has been having an awesome time but has had to spend a lot of time worrying about me. When I told him that I felt a bit selfish for wanting to tough it out he reassured me that it was worth it for me to stay on this adventure with him. So Next Step, you¢re my hero and I feel beyond blessed to share this journey with you!!) Okay, for those who don¢t like the mushy stuff, you can start reading again!! Lol  So we were the second ones out of the shelter. Our entry yesterday mentioned that the summit was a bit anti-climactic. Well, the reason was, we hadn¢t reached the summit!!! Even after all the up, up, up yesterday, we still had about a .7 mile climb to reach the top of Cheoah Gap and it was worth the climb. At the top we had amazing views, and the perfect spot for our morning yoga!! Peanut Butter and Jelly walked up just as we were leaving and agreed that it was the perfect spot for a break. We leap frogged with Tangerine for most of the morning. Then as we passed a campsite on down the trail, we saw Atlas and his son-in-law Matt getting ready to hit the trail. At one point I had gone on ahead of Next Step, and Atlas and Matt had caught up with him and they were able to chat a bit before we started our descent into Steccoah Gap. I ¢smelled the barn¢ and put it into high gear. I am so relieved that I am now on day 3 of pain free hiking. I¢m sure there will be aches and pains on down the trail, but for now I¢m just enjoying the beautiful days God has given us to be in His creation!We had made a reservation at a motel in Robbinsville which was about 7 miles from Steccoah Gap.  The lady that owned the motel had told us to just start walking toward town and someone would give us a ride. I¢m not sure if you¢ve seen the 2 lane roads in the mountains of NC, but that didn¢t seem like a great idea, so we just decided to cross the road and stand there and hope that someone would pick us up. Several cars zoomed by as I gave a friendly wave. Next Step was on his phone searching for shuttle options. Finally a nice lady in a white pickup braked and we thought she was going to stop, but her vehicle disappeared around the curve. A few minutes later, she reappeared, after finding a spot to turn around. She rolled down her window and I thought I heard her say, ¢I hope you all can fit your stuff back here with all the garbage. I¢m on my way to the dump.¢ But what she actually said was, ¢I hope YOU ALL can fit back there with all your stuff and the garbage¢!!! REALLY!?!?! I know I¢ve been in the woods for a few days, but seriously?? But beggars can¢t be choosers so Next Step and I climbed in and literally sat on top of each other, hoping that we were wedged in so tightly that we wouldn¢t fly out if we hit a big bump. He tried to make me feel better and reminded me that we used to ride like this all the time when we were kids!! Soon we made it to the dump where Next Step helped her unload all the garbage and then she asked where we wanted to be dropped off. We told her the motel and she had a look of disgust on her face. ¢What?¢ I asked. ¢Is it a real dump?¢ ¢No,¢ she replied, ¢my ex in-laws just own that motel.¢ Whew!!! So she still took us and dropped us. We were needing to get showers and get our laundry done, because Next Step¢s sister, Kari, and her husband, Jeff, and daughter, Claire (and friend, Abbey) were in Gatlinburg for Spring Break this week and had wanted to make the nearly 3 hour drive over to Robbinsville to meet us for dinner. But hiker hunger took over and we headed straight for the Mexican Restaurant for a quick lunch before we started our chores. As we were eating, the lady sitting at the booth behind us, walked up and said that she had been listening to our conversation and wondered if she could ask some questions about thru-hiking. Of course!!! Pull up a chair!!! So we talked to Pat and her husband for at least 20 minutes as we finished our lunch.  As we got back to the room Kari texted that they had done about all there was to do in Robbinsville, so they could go ahead and meet us. They picked up Next Step and drove him to the laundromat while I showered and then Jeff came back and picked me up to join them. The laundromat just happened to be attached to an ice cream shop and Jeff, being a true Trail Angel, treated us to ice cream. Um, yes, I¢ll have two scoops please! They graciously sat with us the hour and a half it took to get our one load of laundry done, then took us back to the motel so we could change out of our rain gear (the only clean ¢clothes¢ we had to wear while we were doing laundry. The lady that had driven us to town had recommended a little locally owned restaurant for supper and it did not disappoint! Once again, Jeff and Kari provided some trail magic and treated us to supper. The time with family was just what we needed! I noticed that Darrell and I were talking a mile a minute and we do the same thing when we get to talk to our kids and other family when we get to towns. We have always been able to talk to any of them any time, and now we cherish every conversation and every time we can be together!!! Thanks guys for making the drive to see us. It will carry us through!!!  Now it¢s time for some R&R as Next Step and I talk about our options for our next Zero, whether it will be here or at Fontana Village. But I can promise you that I¢ll sleep well tonight in a warm cozy bed!!! I¢m so learning to appreciate the little things!!! ¢Hugs, Which Way Elevation Data:Ascent ~ 1,400Descent ~ 2,700Grade ¢ 11.0 Weather:Day ¢ 65 degrees / SunnyNight ¢ 38 degrees / Clear  Over the Horizon: Fontana Dam Anything worth doing, is better done TOGETHER--Which Way and Next Step!