Walking amongst the deer

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OD
I had a relatively warm night, but there were snowflakes coming down as I
poked my head out of my nylon cocoon. CC was cold, I could tell by the way she
was enveloped in her bag. I went up to the tent site and took down the tent.
Then brought our packs and the food bags down to the shelter. The family slept
in and I was trying to get us out of camp before 8AM. Water was put on to boil
and I tried to make sense out of my pack and gear. CC was reluctant to come out
of her bag due to the cold. Even with her new stuff she still can't get warm.
After oatmeal and coffee she worked at getting warm and packing.
At 9:30AM we hit the trail back up the hill to get on the AT. They have placed
most of the shelters we have stopped at some 1/4 - 3/4 mile off the main trail.
They also seem to always be downhill from the main trail so you start your day
by walking up a steep slope just to get to the start of your day. The wind was
quite strong and after about a hour or so the freezing rain, sleet and snow
started in seriously. We fought it most of the way to Elkwallow wayside, our
lunch stop. About the last three miles were quite interesting. We encountered
HERDS of deer! They just looked at us like "Duh, isn't it a bit cold for you
humans to be out?" We walked between groups of them and they would sometimes
look up at us then go back to browsing. We got one real nice picture. We even
had enough time to dig the camera out of my pack. I had stuck it away in a
waterproof bag for safety in the bad weather.
We are now on a train headed for NY City and then home. I will let CC tell that
story.
CC
Last night was an adventure in the shelter. About midnight I heard a mouse in
one of the family’s packs. I'm glad mine and OD's were safely up in our tent. OD
did make sleeping hard with all of his snoring. I got cold pockets in my sleeping bag off
and on, along with occasional hot flashes. Not too much sleep. Dragged myself out of the bag
with steam coming out of my mouth. Made my oatmeal and OD rinsed out the bowl
and made me drink the hot gruel saying it would warm me up. Thank God for hand
warmers and foot warmers; they kept me from freezing to much in the frozen
weather. Most ladies have done the "Shop till you drop." I did the "Walk until
you plop." We stumbled into the Elkwallow Wayside for lunch, about 7 miles in 4
1/2 hrs. Even though I was not in the best of spirits, the Lord blessed us with
the joy of walking among wild deer like I was one of the herd. I have never been
in a place like that before.
My feet are trashed! We have tried everything we could think of to get these
boots to work for me. Nothing has worked. We bought warmer clothing, and I'm
still cold. This was a very hard decision to make, one of the hardest ever for
me. We are on our way home to fix things and wait out for warmer weather. We are
not quitting, we are refitting and returning. We should be back at Elkwallow to
start south again within 30 days.
Patrick, Deborah Mooney aka OD & CC
All Who Wander Are Not Lost

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