Day 32

Day 32- Erwin to Low Gap - 13 miles (352.8 total)

On the way out of town we were lucky enough to get another ride back to the trailhead, this time from Uncle Johnny's shuttle. In the van we met a few new people and saw our acquaintance Josh and his dog Marius, who were also headed out. We gave the driver a few bucks for the ride, and then headed out of gown on Josh's heels who we chatted with briefly at a railroad  rossing as we waited for a train to pass. Just after that we stopped to hard boil some eggs we bought, and didn't happen to see anyone else the whole day. We ducked under a tree, ate snacks, and had a beer as we waited for the eggs to cook. Afterwards, we hiked our way up to Beauty Spot from he river- the only hike that the emo kid (who gave mike a ride) had ever done. As we hiked the threat of rain loomed, but we seemed to be avoiding it. At one point the temperature read 80* and we were cooking in the sun in our short sleeves. In very little time as we were reaching Beauty Spot the clouds rolled over us and the temperature dropped. From there we could see our next climb, Unaka Mtn, shrouded in clouds which were being whipped thru the gap by winds. Deciding to continue, rain started which quickly turned into hail. The hail piled up and as we climbed further the hail eventually turned to snow. By the time we reached the summit everything was under a blanket of white - it was the storm we had expected earlier (most likely in the Smokies) but thankfully we still had our winter gear. We love the groves of red spruce that covered the summit. It felt like a winter wonderland and reminded us of the northwest simultaniously. Although we were tempted to spend the night right there, we chose to do another couple of miles and head for lower ground in search of a campsite not covered in snow. By the time we reached Low Gap it was getting dark, the snow had turned back to hail, then rain, and we were ready to call it a night. We made camp there and warmed up in our tent.