April 23-24 wandering between TN/NC

April 23, 2005 | Day 27 | Miles: 0 | Total Miles: 270.7
End: Cody House Hostel, Hot Springs, NC
Danielle:
Rainy and cold
Well, remember how I said we were leaving today? Again, flexibility is the name of the game out here, and as it was rainy, windy and cold, and they're calling for snow tonight, we decided to stay another night. Really we had originally planned to hike out on Sunday, so this just puts us back on that schedule. Two days off is a lot, but hopefully it will mean we're well rested when we take off tomorrow. We haven't done much today. Big breakfast, checked our email and labeled our photos on our webpage, made some phone calls and wandered around town for a bit. There are a lot of hikers and people around for the hiker fest, but we've been trying to just stay out of the way and mellow out, versus doing the partying thing.
We've met a few new people-- Spoonman, this big dude with a red beard, vegetarian and super nice and intelligent. We've had fun chatting with him. Also Sweet Sixteen, a 63-year old grandmother who is super sweet, and who had planned to just do 6 weeks on the trail, but who is now planning to continue on to Damascus, and then hike further with her husband who is coming out to meet her there. Very cool.
Anyway, we will definitely be back on the trail tomorrow! Two full days in town is a lot, and we still have miles to walk... Gotta keep at it :-)

Ryan:
cold, rainy, windy, yuk
we planned to leave. it's nasty out. if you're out on the trail, you deal with it. but if you're in town, you have a chance to keep out of a nasty situation. so, we're relaxing. tomorrow, we'll get back to it. we're still ahead of our original schedule...and thai food is in our future.

April 24, 2005 | Day 28 | Miles: 11 | Total Miles: 281.7
End: Spring Mountain Shelter
Danielle:
Snowy and windy
Well, we woke up to snow, so we left in the snow. Town couldn't suck us in for another day. We were out of there! It actually was quite pretty and the woods were quiet. The snow really had accumulated in some spots and it looked like we were back in winter. And felt like it too. It was cold and windy in spots but it's amazing how much heat you generate while you're walking. The choice for shelters today was either 11m or 20m, and we really didn't have it in us to pull off the 20m, so here we are. It's a tiny shelter, but we managed to get some floor space, so we didn't have to set up the tent in the snow. But we could have--we did buy new tent stakes in Hot Springs to replace the ones I lost :-) It's currently 6:20pm, and most of us are in our sleeping bags already. It's only 34 degrees out, so we're in for a cold night. Maybe it will warm up tomorrow?! :-)

Ryan:
snow, cold, windy
we just had to get out of town. it's probably going to be a cold night, but too much time in town was driving me nuts. too many damn thruhikers. plus, we were cramped in this little hostel with no personal space. then again, as i write this, we're crammed in a little shelter that barely holds 6 of us. it was a beautiful day to hike, actually. even with the cold. but, then again, i don't mind the cold. well, except for my feet right now...so, i'm gonna go take care of that.
today's song - blue sky mining, midnight oil