We take it back :)

Being home the last couple days has made us realize a few things.  We know we can't mentally finish a "thru hike", we are still going to section hike, but quitting 2 weeks into it was too soon.  We are going back out (I know..make a decision haha).  Our goal is, at the least, Damascus, VA and at the most, half way (Harpers Ferry)!  I really hope we might be able to catch back up with our friends and we are sorry that we put everyone through this! Hope the second time is a charm :)  

While we were in Franklin, NC we needed to go to an outfitter in town so Aquaman could get new shoes! (those wal mart ones created WAY too many blisters!)  Well, we step out of the hotel and a little german shepherd puppy ran across the road, darting in front of cars and jumps in my arms! People made jokes that the dog knew I worked in a dog rescue and could help him! We pet it and walked away and the dog kept following us. It was only 4 months old, so I immediately ruled out taking it with us on the trail.  So we have no leash, no rope on us and have no idea what to do with a dog that won't go away! It stayed next to us for the most part but then suddenly jumps out in the street and ALMOST gets hit by a car!  Ryan, the other hiker with us, decided he would just carry it up the hill to the outfitter! They were so nice, they took it to the humane society for us! :) If they werent I was considering calling my boss and having her come rescue it :) Hope it found a good home!  I also forgot to mention how we got a ride into Franklin!  A previous thru hiker named Gingersnap brought us in, with brownies and bananas!

We had our first balds, which are mountains with no trees on top. Siler bald was okay, but Wayah bald was beautiful! 360 degree views! We could see a few of the mountains that we had already climbed like Albert Mountain and Standing Indian Mountain! They looked so huge, made us feel really great about what we had accomplished! You could also see Clingmans Dome off in the distance!

One morning we woke up and got ready really quickly, we were on the trail by 7:45 AM! We knew our friends were ahead of us, but we weren't sure how close! We walked about 5 miles before we saw our first shelter, Cold Spring Shelter. I started looking through the logbook and noticed that our friends had stayed there the night before! We got so excited, especially when we noticed that Snackasaurus and Sassafras were there 20 minutes before us! It was a rainy day, so not many views, so we hiked pretty fast to try to find them.  Turns out they stopped at a shelter to eat lunch and we passed them!! We got down into the Nantahala Outdoor Center and found the rest of our friends. We stayed in Bryson City with them at the Ridge Top Hotel. We had pizza and sat around and talked for a while! It was a nice night. Then ate breakfast at the NOC and found the rest of our friends! It was such a nice reunion--so glad to be back with them!  The hike out of the NOC was brutal! it was 6.5 miles up, up, up! When we finally got to the top, it was FREEZING! We stopped at Sassafras Gap Shelter because we found out it was going to snow that night..it was our first shelter sleep! it was nice, we had Sassafras' birthday party there that night, drank wine and had a great time! The next morning there was a little snow and sleet on the ground and as we hiked higher up we saw ice growing out of the ground!   We hiked on into Fontana Dam, where we decided to stop hiking. Now we have changed our minds and will be out again this weekend! :)  See you all on the trail!

In case anyone is interested in reading some of our other friends blogs, here are their links:

Jiffy Pop-   www.dutch-man-walking.blogspot.com
King of the Hill (originally...That Guy)-  www.atthruhikeattempt.wordpress.com
Dudditz and Lakota-  www.trailjournals.com/dudditz2012
Hunny Bunny and Duckie- go to trailjournals.com and type in the search - Duckie and Hunny Bunny
Sex Panther- go to trailjournals and type in the search - Sex Panther -- this one is in Danish :)