Woke up to rain, so we decided to take it slow since we only had 9 miles to hike. Got ready to leave about 10am - left the barn and went about 100 feet before a downpour with thunder and lightning started. We turned right back around and went back tot he barn. Found some cards and played hearts with Rusty and Toast until noon. (UV & Whole Bean & Mazey were there, too). It was really neat to watch the fog roll across the valley.
Left - once more - and got hot almost immediately going up the first hill. Took off the rain jacket and ate some Reeses Pieces and pretended to look at the views (visibility was terrible).
Started up Hump Mountain - a big steep bald - and the wind and rain really picked up. No lightning, though, so I put the rain jacket back on and kept going. Stopped for lunch on the other side of the mountain once the weather started to clear. There are lots of rocks on this section of the trail - hard on the feet but kinda fun to figure out the best path along the way - like a jigsaw puzzle.
Had enough service to call the hostel - they still had our "semi private" room reserved! So nice to know we had a place to stay since the weather was pretty crappy.
Saw some bright orange salamanders - really pretty little things that were right in the middle of the trail. Lots of creepy red and black centipedes. Fields of wildflowers - really amazing. Heard an owl when we crossed Doll Flats (at the NC/TN border). Now we are in TN headed for Virginia.
Got to the hostel in time for the "town shuttle" - fairly terrifying experience as the driver was either intoxicated or otherwise shouldn't have been driving. He let us out at a BBQ joint - pretty good BBQ sandwich for dinner. Ate with Dragonfly and Onyx - they are avoiding shelters altogether (Onyx got sick before Erwin).
We should get to Damascus on OWL's birthday!
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