March 26, 2011

When I woke up, I could hear a thunderstorm all around me. I packed up quickly, and got into my rain gear inside my tent. When I got out, everyone was hurrying to get things packed up and get hiking. We hiked in the the thunderstorm all day. I was actually looking forward to my first bad weather day on the trail, and I wanted to get it behind me. It was cold and even though we were in our rain gear we got soaked through. After twelve miles in severe thunderstorms, we reached Neels Gap. At the gap there is a hiking store that sells groceries. I quickly drank a soda and started chowing on a can of Pringles. I heard there was pizza available, so I cooked a Tony's pizza and stood there, soaked and stinking, in the middle of the outfitter. People were in there to buy expensive gear for weekend trips, but they had to stand next to a disgusting homeless guy shoving cheap pizza in his face. Strange experience. The hostel was full, but we were able to stay at the cabins next door. The cabins were excellent! For 50 dollars a night (split five ways) we could all sleep in a bed, have our own bathroom and enjoy satellite TV. The shower felt great, and I felt so lucky to finally be warm and dry as the thunder and lightning crashed around me. Mentally, I was feeling 100% better. I had called Courtney the night before from the woods, and just having a normal conversation with her began to erase the negativity. The thunderstorm washed away the rest. Walking over 4000 foot mountains in the thunder and lightning was dangerous and fun. I finally felt like I was doing something adventurous.