04-17-13 Together in the April Showers

Scattered storms 20%. We woke up in the middle of the night to light rain. Then heavy. Flashes of light. Thunder.

Morning came and the rain stopped long enough for us to roll up the tent. Off and on it rained. We stopped for a snack. Fog. We stopped for lunch. Fog.

Not the worst rain we've experienced--I reserve that for the day into Fontana. At The trailhead to Hogback Ridge Shelter we saw a sign for trail magic. Only 3 miles down to eggs and hash browns. My pace quickened. Then the wind picked up. And the rain. My pace quickened more.

By the time we reached Sams Gap for eggs and hash browns from Silent Paul my shoes and socks were soaked. The food was a welcomed treat--thank you!

With the trail magic came the sun! It was a pleasant hike into the Low Gap campsite with our buddies. Unfortunately, one of our friends, Cyclops, came down with the virus.

04-15-13 Hiding From the Norovirus Together

Broke camp a little past 8 o'clock and headed north. The lay of the land differed a bit this morning--a pond and gravel road walking. We had our mid-morning snack atop the Rich Mountain Lookout Tower.

Because of the norovirus we are avoiding all shelters and water sources at those shelters. This makes planning our hiking days trickier. We filled up our water bottles at a spring to hold us for rest of the day at mile 288.1. We hiked extra miles so tomorrow morning we are positioned to fill up at 295.6 and again in the evening at 306.5 (there's no springs in between).

We set up camp a couple miles shy of Little Laurel Shelter. Boiled water for dinner and had a peaceful evening.