Mud and Rain...

The thing about this trail is that no matter the weather, you have to get up and walk. When you're warm in your sleeping bag, it's not too appealing to put on wet clothes, dirty socks and muddy shoes. The past two days have been raining. The day before yesterday it was pouring and cold with a constant 20 mph wind. We slipped and slided 20+ miles trudging through puddles and mud up to our ankles. I can see how days like that make people quit.

We're 341 miles in and resting in Erwin, Tennessee at a ratty hostel. In a few days we'll make it up and over Roan Moantain (6000'+) and hopefully be able to hitch a ride to TrailDays in Damascus, VA for some fun. By next week I'll be done with the lowest 3 states on the AT and begin Virginia.

Don't know when I'm going to have to leave the trail but when we walk into Damascus, it's gonna be a good feeling to be back in my birth state. The green tunnel still has us for now but we've started to walk across more rocky, exposed ridgelines and clear across open meadows on top of the mountains.

Still having a blast and looking forward to some sunny TrailDays...