Week Two!

Hiawassee, GA to the NOC

It's been another week on the AT and even more adventure...the trail is going so well right now...all three of us have adjusted into our new situation fairly well and we are now starting to sleep much more comfortably in the woods...the weather has gone from being very seasonably warm to cool and more spring-like...as soon as we crossed the border into NC, there was a distinct change in climate and terrain...while GA was warm and sunny, with the mountains looking well into spring, NC is very cool comparatively and the plants seem to be atleast a week behind...the nights have also gotten a bit more chilly (there have been a few nights that Rooney has shared my sleeping bag), but thankfully i am well prepared for that...we still haven't seen too much rain or snow but i hear there is some in the forecast for the next week...



right now, we are at the Nantahala Outdoor Center (the NOC) and there is a kayak competition going on...it's actually really cool to watch, though i don't really understand what's going on...there's an announcer doing the play-by-play over a loud speaker system, so at least once every few minutes i hear, "oh, he's doing a switch mcnasty" or something "mcnasty" related...what that is exactly, i'm not too sure, but it certainly get's the MC fired up...what is relatively a quite stop for me in previous years is now crowded with folks and hikers and i imagine i'm gonna take a zero here this weekend and enjoy the festivities...

i've come across some great hiker folks and i can see our and other small groups beginning to form...there always seems to be pressure to make friends and keep up with people, but minutes (jill) and i just keep telling ourselves that it's a long hike and there's no need to force anything...we are just taking it all in and moving as we see fit...it's funny to listen to what hikers talk about, being a little more experienced, i can often sit back and just listen as they discuss each others' gear and mileage and food intake...all of this is very normal and predictable, this is classic hiker talk...soon, we will be discussing, "when does the trail get flatter" and "what the green tunnel and the virginia blues will be like"...hikers like to think they are all different, but they tend to share similar experiences with those that have come before them...i guess it's the natural progression of learning and experiencing the trail provides it's explorers...

let's see, anything else i need to discuss? no, not really...the weather has cooled off and i'm anticipating that there will be snow soon, probably in the Smokies...i'm loving life and am so thankful to be out here...more in the future!

peace...serial