from Elk Park/Boone, NC on April 20

Following posted by Mom and Dad to update everyone
Since Hot Springs, they have gone 116 miles, for a total of 388 miles since March 15. From Hot Springs to Erwin, TN, which took four days, it mostly rained. Mom and Dad met them in Erwin, and Mom hiked from Erwin to Elk Park, or about 50 miles, which also took four days. The weather from Erwin to Elk Park was wonderful - they had three days in a row of sun. The hike took them over several balds in upper East Tennessee in an area called the Roan Highlands. This is a hard stretch of the trail, and Mom did great. Dad met everyone in Elk Park yesterday and ferried them to Boone for the night. Eight hikers crashed with a friend of Jennifer's from college, Casey and his roommates, and they all cooked out cheesburgers for dinner. This morning, Jennifer and Sarah took everyone on a tour of Boone and they were able to visit all their old buddies at AppState Outdoor Programs. Everyone got back on the trail by about 1:00 PM. On the current schedule, they should arrive in Damascus Saturday or Sunday. An interim stop will be made tomorrow night in Hampton, TN at a hostel called Kincora where they are planning to do a day of trail maintenance. Since snow is forecast for the middle of the week, the trail maintenance might be postponed. Sarah has stated she is not moving from the hostel until the snow is gone. Will try to get some pictures from the last section of the hike to post soon.