Erwin, TN

Quick update form Erwin before we hit the trail.  We rolled into Uncle Johnny's hostel last night and got a shuttle to town for resupply.  Soon I had a call from my Uncle Tom, who had driven out to meet us!  We got picked up and went out for a great dinner in Johnson City and had a few beers.  It was great to see all the pictures from his bike trip and catch up after so long.  The last few days through the Roan highlands were pretty spectacular, and we had clear weather to take in the views.  We went up and over Hump Mtn. Monday and saw probably the best view since New Hampshire - full 360 degree and you could see for miles.  We hiked through the evening and saw tons of deer grazing up on the balds, stayed that night at Overmountain Shelter and headed over Roan Mtn. the next day.  You can really see the hillsides filling in with color, and its more noticeable every single day.  The last few nights haven't been quite as cold as we've seen, I think one night after Damascus it got down to ~35 and we were still OK in the tent.  Uncle Tom said its actually supposed to warm up so maybe we'll have less worry going into the Smokies.  Either way I think Leo and I have the gear we need to get to Springer - the trail-runners have worked out great for Leo and they haven't shown any signs of wear so far.  Looking at the mileage now its crazy to think how close we are at this point (~340 miles).  The plan from here is to push 3 big days to Hot Springs, then spend Saturday night/Sunday in Asheville.  After that it'll be a big 6 day section through the highest range on the trial - the Great Smoky Mountains.  We're looking forward to a good rest day since we've been pushing steady 20s since the beef event, but even more excited for the Smokies.