Date: 2008-10-30
To: U.S. 19E (but in Boone, NC)
Miles today: 149.8

We've officially decided we're finishing Tuesday, November 25th in the afternoon...hopefully we get there!!! Here's the latest...No Car¢s (I-81 interchange) ¢ Partnership Shelter ¢ Day 112 ¢ 1639.8 ¢ 1651.4 ¢ October 21stPartnership Shelter is awesome!!! After a lazy morning, resupplying, and having lunch at Pizza Hut, Stretch & I said our farewells to No Car and headed back to the trail around 2pm. It was a fairly simple 11+ miles under cool, sunny, and windy weather. It¢ll be another cold one tonight¢¦Partnership Shelter ¢ Hurricane Mtn Shelter ¢ Day 113 ¢ 1651.4 ¢ 1671.1 ¢ October 22ndThis morning, after waking up really late, we were about to leave when Footnote walked into the shelter! We hadn¢t seen him since the Whites. He is doing a double flip-flop and is working on a NOO part from GA->Bland, VA. Good luck to him on the rest of his hike! After that, we had a very boring and fairly easy day with no views. We are spending a third night with Daniel, a SOBO section hiker from Murphy, NC. Tomorrow we will be in the amazing Grayson Highlands and Mt. Rogers¢¦.oh, and it¢s still cold¢¦Hurricane Mtn Shelter ¢ Thomas Knob Shelter ¢ Day 114 ¢ 1671.1 ¢ 1687.1 ¢ October 23rdAbsolutely incredible day today! The Grayson Highlands are amazing!!!!!!! 4000+ft with wide open views all day¢¦it was quite windy and brisk as well. Watching the sun set at the 5400 ft mark on top of a beautiful ridge was breathtaking. Tonight¢s shelter is the highest on the whole AT thus far ¢ over a mile high!!! It¢s going to be a cold one tonight after an unforgettable day!Thomas Knob Shelter ¢ U.S. 58 (Summit Cut) ¢ Day 115 ¢ 1687.1 ¢ 1698.3 ¢ October 24thThe word of the day is windy. On top of Buzzard Rock we found 70 mph winds that blew us over. Exhilarating!!! My pack cover actually fell off and I had to go chase after it. Anyway, after that we got picked up by Stretch¢s family where we spent the weekend in an awesome cottage¢¦Damascus, VA ¢ Zero Day ¢ Day 116 ¢ October 25thToday was a nice zero. After going to the library for a bit, I got to meet Pocket¢s parents at Dot¢s (thanks for lunch) and then resupplied. We also picked up Mothballs, Gritz, and Yearbook and took them to the cottage for the UGA/LSU game (Go Dawgs) and an awesome dinner. Too bad Ohio State choked again in a big game. Back to hiking tomorrow¢¦U.S. 58 (Summit Cut) ¢ Damascus, VA ¢ Day 117 ¢ 1698.3 ¢ 1715.1 ¢ October 26thWe took a long morning/afternoon to get food, packed, and back out to the trail. Stretch¢s family dropped us off around 2:30 and we hiked just past dark. My ankle was giving me issues today but I don¢t think it is a long term thing¢¦to Tennessee tomorrow!!!Damascus, VA ¢ Double Springs Shelter ¢ Day 118 ¢ 1715.1 ¢ 1733.4 ¢ October 27thIt is snowing right now at 7pm¢¦After a late start, we had a fairly pedestrian 18 miles today with only one view. The weather calls for a wind chill under 40 from today at 9am until Thursday afternoon. Highs are in the high 30s in the mountains with winds from 15-35 mph. It¢s cold. Constantly. More of the same tomorrow¢¦Double Springs Shelter ¢ somewhere past Watauga Lake Shelter ¢ Day 119 ¢ 1733.4 ¢ 1754.6 ¢ October 28thOy. After it snowing all night, it continued to snow all morning and flurried all afternoon. The highlight of the day was a 12 mile field walk in the morning (it was 30 degrees). The entire day was frigid. Our breaks were short because we had to move to stay warm. Walking through 2-6 inches of snow for 20+ miles wore me out. It was an emotionally and physically challenging day¢¦one of the most challenging so far. On top of that, we missed the shelter tonight at dusk and ended up tenting on the shore of the lake 34 mile further. On top of that, Stretch fell in the lake trying to fill up the water bag. The one good thing is that we are at a low enough elevation tonight (~2000 feet) where the snow was gone¢¦it ought to be warmer tomorrow¢¦hopefully¢¦Somewhere past Watauga Lake Shelter ¢ Moreland Gap Shelter ¢ Day 120 ¢ 1754.6 ¢ 1771.4 ¢ October 29thAfter a slightly warmer morning than yesterday, Stretch & I headed out for an uphill day. The snow was still out at the higher elevations, especially towards the end of the day. The highlight of the day was a walk along Laurel Fork Creek leading up to a beautiful falls. The trail followed the creek for 1.5 miles, even in the side of the granite walls at some points. We also took a couple of hours for lunch and watched a bit of Bad Boyz II. It was nice to be out of the cold for a little while¢¦gonna be another cold one tonight¢¦Mom & Dad come visit tomorrow!!!Moreland Gap Shelter ¢ U.S. 19E (Elk Park, NC) ¢ Day 121 ¢ 1771.4 ¢ 1789.6 ¢ October 30thToday was a nice day, as it warmed up and the wind settled. The hike today was quite benign as we hiked to where my parents picked us up. There was a really cool falls we passed today by accident as we got water this afternoon; it was a nice surprise. Most of the snow is now gone and the forecast is for warmer weather in the near future. It was nice to see Mom & Dad today for my birthday. Dad is hiking with us for the next 4 days, which should be an interesting experience. Stretch and I have eaten and rested¢¦it¢s time for the Roan¢s!!!