The next few days...

Hi Everyone,

This is Kelsey writing again. Shawn is currently at the Nantahala Outdoor Center, about two days before reaching the Smoky Mountains. Since he last wrote, he spent two nights in Franklin, NC at a 'hiker hotel'. He decided to spend a second night because the forecast for the day on Wednesday was severe thunderstorms and tornado warnings. He left on Thursday morning on an 11 o'clock shuttle and walked a little over 4 miles. He decided that he really likes to walk by himself and then camp with a group at night. So, about 4 miles into the hike on Thursday, he met up with a bunch of people that he got to know in Franklin. They found a big, open field in the middle of the woods. A lot of people thought about pushing on to a shelter, but instead decided to take advantage of the open field. They pooled the beers that they had saved from Wednesday night, stuck them in a bag, and then stuck them in a creek near the campsite, so that they would be cold for the evening. Then they made a fire and had dinner. Shawn said that the moon was almost full, if not completely full, and the view of the stars was incredible.
On Friday, Shawn got kind of a late start around 11:30AM. He left after almost everyone else that had stayed at the field. He had to hike about 12 miles yesterday. It was a hard day, because there was a lot of up hill hiking. He didn't get to a campsite until about 7 or 7:30PM, which is pretty late for a hiker day.
Today he got a much earlier start, because he had another 12 miles to go and was anxious to get to the Nantahala Outdoor Center. He got to the center around 4 or 5 and said that today was a pretty easy day for hiking. He seems to have lost a lot of the group that he was traveling with on Thursday, but he suspects that they were lured off the trail by a 'trail angel' who had pitched a tent and was offering food and drinks to tired hikers. The Outdoor Center has a bunkhouse, a restaurant, condos, a store and seems to be pretty touristy. It's on a river that is known for it's white water rafting. Tonight for dinner he had a pretty typical Shawn meal of an appetizer of onion rings, and then a bacon cheeseburger and fries for a main course. I just talked to him a few minutes ago, and he was sitting on the porch of the bunkhouse with two other hikers that he ate dinner with. He said that he would be in bed soon and that he's looking forward to starting the Smokies.
He seems to still be enjoying himself a lot. And I've heard that although his hand still does not look great, it feels much better.
Shawn and I have still been able to talk every day, so if you would like to receive a call from him sometime soon, feel free to post it on here or send me an email, kwegner@drew.edu, and I'll be sure to pass on the message.