Day 17 (Tuesday, April 29th) - Sassafrass Shelter to Stecoah Gap

Today's Miles: 6.70 
Trip Miles: 143.70

Today's account actually starts with last night. We weren't quite prepared for the storm that raged through the Appalachians and so much of the south. We were sorry to hear about the loss of life and the damage that was caused. For us, the rain began around midnight and the winds began to blow in gusts of forty or fifty mph (by my guess). Natalie's little one man tent was overwhelmed by the strength of the wind and she was forced to bunk in with us. A tight fit, but the extra guy lines on the three man helped to keep the tent upright.

The wind really began to howl around two or three in the morning. It sounded like a train roaring through the gap. We heard and felt the tent poles start to give as the wind velocity rose. Mike had to keep his hand pressed against the tent top to stop it from collapsing. The rain fly came loose on one side and I went out to make repairs. I ended up tying the fly off on a tree. I had trouble standing out there with the soaked ground and what were probably sixty mph gusts. The sound of the wind through the trees was incredibly loud and frightening.

We all did what we could to keep the tent upright, and by four we seemed to enter an eye-like portion of the storm. The rain stopped and it was eerily quiet. We took the opportunity to get a little rest, but the respite was short lived as the winds began again, now pummeling the opposite side of the tent. Mike, Natalie and I all worked at keeping the tent together and by seven things began to calm down.
Exhausted, we went out to check the damage and found Natalie's tent just about flat on the ground and mud covered. We worked fast to wrap it and our tent up and get ourselves the almost seven miles to Stecoah Gap.

Mike was checking weather reports and thought we should push on the nine miles to the next shelter, but he deferred to the tired old man and we headed to Stecoah Gap and the Cabin in the Woods, where we could dry out and get some sleep. I promised we'd make up the miles tomorrow.
As we were beginning the days hike it started to rain again and the winds picked up in intensity. A half hour out, as Natalie and I rounded a corner, a birch tree about a foot and a half around came crashing down just ten feet ahead of us. I can assure you we kept our heads up after that. There were trees and branches down all along the trail.

Grumpy wet Mike

After a couple hours of driving rain things began to brighten; the trail however, was drenched and slick with mud. Mike took a butt slide down one particularly oily section and stayed to warn me around it.

Trail Magic! Isaac, Natalie, No Pants and Mike

Four hours in we got to Stecoah. There was a picnic table with fruit on it at the roadside. Trail Magic! We had an apple and banana and waited for our ride out.
Isaac from Ohio, Duct Tape, Thad aka No Pants, and a section hiker from Canada came by as we waited and we talked about the storm of the night before. They had all stayed in the shelter (which was down the hill out of the wind) and didn't realize the full extent of the storm until they hiked through the debris. I guess we'll have to examine our anti shelter bias.

We got to the cabins (thanks, Donna) and pulled out all our wet gear to dry. There are more storms predicted for tonight so I'm glad we are here. We'll hit it hard tomorrow and try for Fontanna Dam fifteen miles north.

Night all.