Day 6
Thanksgiving Day!!
"Pirate" the host of the hostel, was very busy preparing for Thanksgiving. Seth and Scout asked him if the can help and he gave them the chore of decorating the carrot cakes....they loved it!
On Thanksgiving morning we all woke up refreshed and ready to go. Pirate made us a beautiful Thanksgiving breakfast. 
After getting our fill at Pirate's breakfast....we all prepared to hike north.....
We knew we had to make the most of our day so we could set up camp and get Thanksgiving dinner going before we lost the sun.
Robbie's long hair had been really giving him problems in this weather....so he borrowed his Outlaw's head band ....resourceful!
The fog started rolling in through out the day. Here we are taking a break on the trail.
Finally we set camp!!
This was standing a few feet from our hammocks....the fog was CRAZY!
Well the night just went down hill from here. The wind and rain were blasting us from the East. The rain was sideways and the wind was so strong it kept up rooting our stakes and blowing our tarps off. At about 2:00am Robbie and I had been in and out of our hammocks about ever 15 minutes (no sleep). Robbie helped me to wrap the tarps around the hammocks...which seemed a little better. He saved his Outlaw by using her boots to hold down her tarp. By 4:00am there was a slight lull. The wind died down and we thought it was all over with...finally! But in about 15 minutes it started to blast us from the west. This time Robbie's hammock took a strong hit and it was demolished! So Robbie grabbed what he could and grabbed the dog and found slight relief from the wind by climbing down on the ridge's edge. Everything he was wearing was soaked....his bag, his phone EVERYTHING! And don't forget it is freezing cold as well. So Robbie came to my hammock and I gave him a layer of dry clothes I was wearing and then he fashioned a raincoat out of a trash bag. He sat just under the edge of the ridge with Major dog and waited until morning.
The first sign of morning we started to gather our gear and head out. We were all cold, wet and tired! Our bags got wet as well. Poor Mom (Outlaw) had to pour the water from her hiking boots to start the day's hike....but she never complained. We were ready for a warm, dry shelter and were determined to finish our hike this day.
Robbie models his latest fashion in emergency rain gear....
Seth and Scout show their breakfast choice....SHARKIES! (They are an energy sport fruity)
Robbie works up a sweat filtering water and has to disrobe from his many layers.
We still had about another mile to reach the van. So we sat the girls down behind a hill to be sheltered from the cold wind. Then Robbie, M.J., Seth and Major all hiked the final mile to get the van and come back for the girls.
John shows off his PINK hiking socks!
Here we are at The Varsity!
Here we are on the long trip home. We did end up getting the Outlaw to relinquish her George Washington hat, however her replacement is now The Varsity's paper cap!
Major was such a trooper of a Trail Dog! Here he is sporting his AT bandanna...He is too cool!
Robbie's long hair had been really giving him problems in this weather....so he borrowed his Outlaw's head band ....resourceful! The fog started rolling in through out the day. Here we are taking a break on the trail.
M.J. takes a break to help Scout with her sore shoulders. Just a little moleskin proved to help.
Finally we set camp!!
The fog is getting thicker now. We can hardly see in front of us. The wind is also starting to pick up a little.
What a FEAST we prepared! We had Turkey, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, Corn, and Rice Pilaf. Robbie also had surprise candy bars for dessert! YUMMY!
Before we were able to finish eating, the rain set in. I tried to make Major a shelter to keep dry.
It worked for a little while. He got into and was dry....then the wind started to blow and it didn't take long for it to topple. Then Major had to curl up under our hammocks.
This was standing a few feet from our hammocks....the fog was CRAZY!
Well the night just went down hill from here. The wind and rain were blasting us from the East. The rain was sideways and the wind was so strong it kept up rooting our stakes and blowing our tarps off. At about 2:00am Robbie and I had been in and out of our hammocks about ever 15 minutes (no sleep). Robbie helped me to wrap the tarps around the hammocks...which seemed a little better. He saved his Outlaw by using her boots to hold down her tarp. By 4:00am there was a slight lull. The wind died down and we thought it was all over with...finally! But in about 15 minutes it started to blast us from the west. This time Robbie's hammock took a strong hit and it was demolished! So Robbie grabbed what he could and grabbed the dog and found slight relief from the wind by climbing down on the ridge's edge. Everything he was wearing was soaked....his bag, his phone EVERYTHING! And don't forget it is freezing cold as well. So Robbie came to my hammock and I gave him a layer of dry clothes I was wearing and then he fashioned a raincoat out of a trash bag. He sat just under the edge of the ridge with Major dog and waited until morning.
The first sign of morning we started to gather our gear and head out. We were all cold, wet and tired! Our bags got wet as well. Poor Mom (Outlaw) had to pour the water from her hiking boots to start the day's hike....but she never complained. We were ready for a warm, dry shelter and were determined to finish our hike this day.
Major was wet and cold so we covered him with a trash bag to try and get warm....he didn't move!
Here we are eager to get going on the trail.
Here we are eager to get going on the trail.
Robbie models his latest fashion in emergency rain gear....
Seth and Scout show their breakfast choice....SHARKIES! (They are an energy sport fruity)
We stop at a watering hole just down the trail to fill up. The fog is starting to lift and we are beginning to thaw out a little.
Robbie works up a sweat filtering water and has to disrobe from his many layers. 
We finally reached Hogpen....the end of this leg of the hike....Outlaw is giving her victory cheer!
We still had about another mile to reach the van. So we sat the girls down behind a hill to be sheltered from the cold wind. Then Robbie, M.J., Seth and Major all hiked the final mile to get the van and come back for the girls.
We spent a night at a hotel and got a very needed good night's rest. The next day we met up with John and his crew at The Varsity in Atlanta Georgia. We had a little celebration over some chili dogs....oh yeah!
John shows off his PINK hiking socks!
Here we are at The Varsity!
Major was such a trooper of a Trail Dog! Here he is sporting his AT bandanna...He is too cool!
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