Date: 2016-06-16
To: Another foggy morning on the trail
Miles today: 0.0

Overmountain Shelter to US 19EThe fog rolls in across surrounding mountaintops as we eat breakfast and pack up our gear. We have not been on the trail long before we're back in forests enveloped in mist, giving the setting a dreamy quality as though we've stepped into a fairy tale.By the time we start up Little Hump Mountain, all views are obscured. With strong gusts that almost push us off our feet, the grass on the balds is swirling in all directions like a churning sea of green blades. It takes a lot of effort to push uphill against the wind. When we come to a somewhat protected spot with rocks to sit on, we stop for a break, joined by Marcos who has caught up with us.After a quick snack, the three of us continue onward and upward. Despite the brisk winds, thick fog persists until we summit Hump Mountain after almost four miles of hiking this morning. We hear more interesting stories about Marcos's family and his younger days. He and Suuz trade stories from the sixties and seventies. We quickly cover several more miles before stopping at Doll Flats for lunch.The dappled shade around the dozen or so tent sites at Doll Flats looks like a perfect setting to rest and eat. As soon as we break out our food, however, we are set upon by a horde of pesky and persistent flies who hasten our departure as soon as we finish eating. Suuz is surprised when we pass a "Leaving NC" sign on the trail going north out of Doll Flats, as she wasn't aware we were in North Carolina.We descend for three more miles to the gap where US19E runs between Elk Park, NC, and Roan Mountain, TN. We take our lives in our hands and walk a few tenths of a mile on the narrow shoulder of the curving, busy highway. We're happy when X spots Mountain Harbour Hostel/Bed and Breakfast ahead.X goes uphill to the B&B where we will be roughing it deluxe for the next two nights. Marcos and Suuz chat with Frendy and Piper, who've arrived just after us. The mother/daughter hikers are finished hiking this year's AT section. They are picking up the car they left here and driving to Hot Springs, NC, to spend the night at Laughing Heart Lodge before heading their separate ways tomorrow. We later learn they gave Marcos a ride to Erwin after he decided to take a break from the trail and hitchhike back to his friend's house in Asheville.After we check in, we take our first load of laundry downstairs to be washed. Then it's shower time--a grand luxury after five days on the trail. Clean and revived, we sort through the resupply boxes we've shipped ourselves, including the food we will pack out of here and a few snacks to eat while we're here.Because we've not eaten many of the snacks we started out with, we decide to cut back on what we'll take on the next leg. We keep our favorites and make a cull pile. When Suuz takes our extras over to the hiker box in the hostel, she meets Puck, who's retiring from the Marine Corps and hiking this section of the AT while he's in the area using leave time before he commissions a group of his former students at Quantico next month.We have the second floor of the B&B to ourselves tonight and hope the peace and quiet, not to mention a real bed, will make for a good night's sleep. We have a big mileage day tomorrow but that's a story for another day.Dr. Suuz and X