Waiting on Florence, in Safety off the Trail

It occurred to me that I should post an update regarding my current situation, since I know there are some folks who follow my blogs here but may not see my Facebook and Instagram posts.

First of all, I am currently off the trail because of the impending doom of Florence, and likely will be for a few days. The trail has been closed in most of North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, and hikers have been urged to get out of the woods. Mudslides, flash flooding, falling trees, and heavy rain are the primary threats to hikers. The rain and winds are supposed to hit over the next couple days.

So how did I end up in Pennsylvania? Some friends of mine had joined me for a planned two weeks of hiking in Virginia. Unfortunately, due to the hurricane, those plans have been temporarily derailed. They decided to head home to PA to wait out the storm and offered very generously to take me home with them. We are hoping to get back on trail, weather and trail conditions permitting.

It will be a bit of a waiting game, however. The worst of the weather is supposed to hit over the weekend but what it will leave behind in its wake is another unknown.

Needless to say, this is a frustrating delay. I am trying to embrace it with the mentality that there is a reason for it, but I still just want to be crushing miles in Virginia and finishing this trail in the time frame I had originally planned. I realize this is a petty complaint when many people will lose everything in a storm like this. To everyone in the storm’s path, I am keeping you in my thoughts and prayers.

I will post further updates in the coming days. Meanwhile, here are some photos from the trail before I had to abandon ship.