We have made it as far as the southern boundary of the Great Smokey Mt National Park. Decaf, Beep, and I made a mutual decision to yellow-blaze to Gatlinburg for a couple reasons. One is Decaf's brother and his wife (Wayne and Marcy) for some time have told us that when we got close to Gatlinburg to let them know and they would come meet us. So we decided to get a shuttle here and we have had a great day and a half with them. Also we have good workamper friends working at the Cherokee KOA (Wayne and Sue) and we were so happy that they could drive over to have dinner with us tonight. Good times!
Tomorrow morning, Wayne and Marcy will drop us off at the northern end of the Park and we will start hiking north again. Then our plan will be to finish the Trail going north then come back in August/September to do the 70 miles in the park to finish our thru hike.
I am currently sitting in the laundry room of the hotel and waiting for the dryer to finish. Laundry usually gets done about every 5-7 days. We wear the same thing every day even though we do have an extra set of dry clothes and socks in our packs. Trail life is like nothing else... A trip that I am grateful to be a part of.
Most recent pics:
This is a memorial right on the trail. It was raining so hard that it is not a good picture. A firefighter died here fighting a forest fire. Sad. I will look for a picture online that will be clear and I will post it. Hikers have left bracelets, coins, bandanas etc. 
At Fontana Dam. The red, white and blue on the right are VW's. There was a car gathering there of the R32's. 
Beep Masters and I crossing Fontana Dam, part of the A.T.
One drizzly day. 
3 comments:
I noticed a comment by someone awhile back about pics of Dale eating, so now you can say you have a pic of something eating Dale! (:
Sounds so smart to take advantage of the opportunities to see family & friends "off trail" and give yourselves a break! When I hike with you (in my imagination, of course), I do not hike in the rain, nor do I wear the same clothes for 5-7 days at a time. I'm such a wimp, but you, my friends, are trail warriors!
Thank you for allowing me to read the chapters of your adventure. I enjoy it so! So happy you are well! Still praying! Love to you both! Robin
Sounds like trail life is pretty hard. Rain, cold, wet, etc. None the less...Happy Trails to both of you and all your trail partners. Deb
Trail life isn't easy but it is still amazing! I hate to ask but...which Deb in my life made the comment? And thanks!
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