North Carolina!

We arrived in Hiawassee, GA night before last by way of a dodgy couple in a red pickup truck - the gentleman was tragically short on teeth but after that many miles in the snow and the cold we didn't care. Turtle sat on my lap the whole way into town but when we got to the Holiday Inn I could not have been happier. We cranked the heat, got under all the covers and just lay there in silence coming back up to temperature.

Hiawassee is big on the AYCE (all you can eat) establishments. We found an AYCE steakhouse and, as soon as it was reasonably acceptable to go in for dinner we - and every senior citizen in Hiawassee - headed over to Daniel's Steakhouse. Salad piled high with vegetables, fried chicken, sausage gravy, mashed potatoes, collard greens and pink lemonade. Mmm mmm! It was, in actuality, pretty gross but at the time it was nothing short of phenomenal. After a 5pm dinner we were asleep and warm by 8. Glorious.

The next day consisted of restocking on food, purchasing the warmest things I could find (UnderArmor full body base layer suit and a 20 degree sleeping bag liner? Yes please) and eating. It was glorious and restful and my knees certainly thanked me.

All of these downhills have me feeling like RG3 in the playoffs. It's rough. The downhills are so much worse than the ups - your toes slam into the front of your boots and you knees just ache from pounding down the mountains.

Today we got an early start at Dicks Creek Gap and did about 12 miles into North Carolina and officially put Georgia behind us. The welcome into NC was less than friendly though - once you pass the tiny sign denoting the border between the states you walk straight up hill at about a 45 degree angle for about three quarters of a mile. Screw you too NC.

We got to the shelter at a reasonable time and managed to get space in the shelter (hallelujah!). Thank god for all my warm purchases because tonight is going to be a doozy. 12 more miles tomorrow.