About 4 days ago, Rob (1/2 of The Jaybirds) mentioned that he’d like to see 12” of snow. I don’t like Rob. Today we hiked through snow. Again. And tonight we’re  packed like sardines in a shelter, luckily warm enough despite the 34 degree rain. We’re semi-dry and still eating as the sky darkens and hoping for some sun to dry out tomorrow!

We enjoyed leaving the park—the allure of camping somewhere other than in the Smokies’ shelters is strong. But in weather like this, staying dry is more important than making miles and we hit Standing Bear Farm hostel 3 miles after leaving last night’s shelter. Curtis and his family have built up an awesome place where we did a quick resupply since its 2 days until we get our next big mail drop at Hot Springs.

They had a phone available so I interrupted Heather in class briefly to say “Hi,” then got warm for a few minutes before heading back to the trail.

We have Harmony, Freight Train, Midays and Wumbah staying here with us tonight, some in the shelter and some in tents. We fell short of our mileage goal today so we are hoping to make about 18 miles tomorrow to set up a short run into Hot Springs on Sunday. We’ve been joking about Rockhound’s pulled muscle in his…posterior and Green One’s (my bro’s) habit of losing his spoon. He lost his original a number of times before losing it permanently, and then whittled a replacement out of a stick. When he was done whittling, it looked like a stick with a slight depression in it. Since then, he’s found a plastic spoon, burned & deformed it in a fire, then broke the handle. We still ask him whether he has his “stick” handy at mealtime.

It’s 6:30pm now. The Jaybirds are playing cribbage, everyone else is eating, talking and just trying to stay warm. Enough writing—my hands are freezing despite my gloves. And hey, it’s snowing again!