The last few days have presented some weather challenges.  I made good progress on Friday and Saturday, covering 12 and 16 miles, respectively.  On Friday, I crossed the Georgia-North Carolina border, my first milestone.

GA-NC Border

Saturday turned out to be an all-day rain.  Here I am sitting in my tent waiting for the rain to stop.

Finally, about 1:30 PM the rain let up so I packed up my tent and headed for the next shelter.  Probably not a great decision as one mile down the trail the rain started falling again.  At this point, the sloped sections of the trail were like small rivers and the flat sections like ponds.  An hour and a half later I arrived at the shelter looking pretty damp.  Fortunately there was still space for me in the two-story shelter so I didn’t have to pitch my tent in the rain.

That night, twelve humans and two dogs stayed at the shelter.  There were wet clothes hanging everywhere.  I had run into the dogs a few days earlier on the trail. Like my dog Riley, they appeared to have hearts of champions.

Buckshot (Trail name: Cougar Bait)

Dingo (Trail name: Bear Bait)

By morning, there was a half inch of snow on the ground.  All of the hanging clothes were frozen stiff and the wet trail shoes were blocks of ice.  At this point, there is not much to do but pack up and get moving.  Once you start hiking, you warm up quickly, but that first thirty minutes after hopping out of your sleeping bag is pretty uncomfortable.  (Picture buttoning buttons, zipping zippers, tying laces, and buckling buckles with numb fingers – none of which you can do with gloves on.)  Bring on the warm weather!

Long Branch Shelter

Snow in the Trail

Today, myself and a bunch of fellow hikers caught the shuttle from the trailhead into Franklin, NC.  Franklin is a nice town, kind of like a mini-Asheville.  I am splitting a room at the Budget Inn with another hiker.  We have been able to dry out our gear, do laundry, and resupply  at Walmart.

Tomorrow, I catch the shuttle back the trail and get back to hiking.  At this point, I am about four days away from entering the Smokies.