Well, it is now April 21. I Hiked from Hot Springs, NC through Erwin, TN and I am now in Damascus, VA.  It was an eventful 11 days of hiking.  When I left Hot Springs it got very cold for the next 4 days with temps down into the low 20's at night.  I stayed in shelters rather than my tent so I wouldn't have to pack up my tent in the freezing cold at 6:00 in the morning.  I hiked over some spectacular mountains with views that went on forever.  I stopped in Erwin, TN about a third of the way through my hike from Hot Springs to Damascus and got cleaned up, re supplied, and ate a hot meal which was at Kentucky Fried Chicken all you can eat buffet.  Let me tell you, that when you get to a town you are so hungry that you will eat massive quantities of food, especially meat. I'm now in Damascus. VA and am taking a zero day to rest, clean up, re-supply, and eat.  Damascus is a hiker town.  Right now there are a lot of hikers that have come off the trail and are staying in town.  So, many that there are no vacancy's in town.  It will rain today and the next two days.  I don't mind the rain so much, especially since we haven't had that much (one day of rain in the last 3 weeks).  Although, the temps are suppose to get into the 20's again and I'm concerned about crossing Mt. Rogers (over 5,000 ft) and getting hit by snow.  Getting to Damascus, VA is a big mile stone on the trail, it is about a 100 miles short of the 25% completion mark.  The next big mile stone is Harper's Ferry which is about 600 miles from here.  Harper's Ferry is the half way point on the trail.  I plan on being in Harper's Ferry some time between May 21 and May 25.  My average daily hike has been 15.5 miles.  I've had some plus 20 mile days and some near 20 mile days over some mountainous terrain.  2 days ago on April 19th, I had my first marathon day where I hiked 27 miles.  Once I get over Mt Rogers, there isn't as much elevation gain and loss as I've had in the previous 460 miles and I expect my daily miles hiked average to increase.  My biggest concern is carrying enough food.  I've lost a good amount of weight and don't have as much fat reserves to burn and in the past couple of days I have found myself snacking more every couple of hours to gain energy.  So, I will need to carry more food to keep eating, and will need to stop more to re-supply.  All is well, no injuries or illness, spirits are good, and I can't wait to see Denise in a few weeks in Harper's Ferry.