No news from the woods so a little more details about life on the trail.

I haven't heard word from Melissa since Sunday. They are in and out of service and this is not unexpected. I was actually quite surprised we had heard so much and so often the first week.

Jordan would want me to assured everyone that he is taking good care of everyone and they are never REALLY alone.  This is the typical night camping on the Appalachian trail. There are 12 in this particular group on this overnight. You can see Jordan tied outside Melissa's tent keeping an eye on the scene. They usually make camp a short ways off the main trail. Campfires outside of shelters and huts are non-existent. They are inefficient for heating and cooking, and threaten to start wildfires. The Shelters and Huts that are close to water will sometimes have a fire pit. Those places are where you find the classic 'hang around the fire telling ghost stories' moments.

Mice are very common in the huts and shelters along the trail. More people opt to sleep in their tents than the huts even when there is space available. Melissa told me that the huts are usually colder than your tent as well. This makes sense since they have a much higher ceiling.

From the A.T. Trail Guide:

White blazes on the north side of trees are identical to the blazes on the south side. Make sure you are headed in the right direction, especially when sleepily leaving shelters in the morning.

They are in Macon County, N.C somewhere.

UPDATE : Tailwind informed up they stayed at Wesser Bald shelter 129.3 NoBo. 

It rained Today but the Weather for the next couple days will be sunny mid 60's days and upper 40's and clear at night. Great weather for hiking. Next likely rain will be Friday. They are in the Nantahala National Forest. We will either hear from them again back in Franklin, The NOC, or at Fontana Dam. When they got off the trail, they went North to get to Franklin. So they went back to the trail where they jumped off at Deep Gap. The NOC is at 135.2 NoBo and Fontana Dam is 162.5 NoBo.

I'll update you with all the details as soon as they check in. If you read the blog, please feel free to comment. Melissa reads the blog as well when she has internet connection, and words of encouragement are always appreciated.