Batman To The Rescue

Day 13

Wednesday April 4, 2017

Mile: 105.7 to 115.4

7:11am - 11:45am / 1:30pm - 3:15pm

Weather: wet, cold, stormy

Black Bear and Shortcake waiting for Batman

The NOC (Nantahala Outdoor Center) and their Dragon's Breather mega burgers will have to wait.

We woke early and were hiking by 7:11am to beat the rain and cold. We thought if we could crank out 15 miles we would be in reach to hit the NOC tomorrow and could tough out the wet and cold knowing we would be under a roof the next night. But we were wrong.

We arrived at the first shelter by 11:45am and took refuge to dry out and warm up. We decided to just crash there for the day instead of hiking on with the bleak forecast. But with the arrival of other hikers whose behaviors were less then desirable and a worsening forecast for the next two days we decided to pack up and leave. One shout out to Batman and arrangements were made for our safe extraction from the woods.

The sky cleared and we had a leisurely hike to Wayah Gap were we relaxed on the side of the road for Batman to come to the rescue. We were in the vehicle a few short minutes and the sky opened up. 

We so wanted to push on to the NOC. We have been feeling strong, attitudes great and we're just having a wonderful time. But we let our brains win. The weather was going to be very cold and wet for the next two days so we decided it was best to get out of the woods and take the next two days off to rest up and strategize for the next two weeks. 

Happy Hiking.