"The only thing keeping you on the mountain was your pack"

howdy again! I know it hasn't been long, but we had a bit of a weather issue. Let's start from where I left off: leaving Damascus. So we got out of Damascus on Saturday late in the afternoon and made it the 15 miles to our shelter for the night. Though I'm working on breaking in my new shoes, I did indeed make it 15 miles....with many foot-related stops along the way. So we wake up in the morning yesterday and start our way towards the tallest mountain in Va.- Mount Rogers. Overnight, it had become cold, terribly windy, and looked very threateningly of rain. We head on anyway, wearing our rain gear so it won't rain on us. We stop part way up the mountain to put on another layer and continue on. We get towards the top and the trees start shrinking and turning into sparse shrubbery, as well as it is now drizzling. We continue on, only to get nearly blown off the mountain in estimated 60-70mph winds-the duct tape I had on my pack cover was blown off, and the cover almost went with it, as well as me:) We proceed to cower behind a rock outcropping and call a few people to figure out the weather report, and then, since we value our lives, decide to turn around and come back into town for a bit. As we were headed back towards the road, it started down pouring, as well as thunder and lightning, ensuring us we had made the right decision. So we aren't going to cross Mt. Rogers until tomorrow. But we are still alive and not hypothermic!