Last night was a wild and crazy experience with the weather. Fortunately, nothing as serious as some other states experienced but we had intense winds and heavy rain/thunderstorms until 9:00 this morning. Other than having to pack up a lot of wet gear we made out with no other issues. The trail out of camp this morning was a bit unworldly as we were on a narrow ridge for about 1 mile. The trees and fauna were very weather beaten but still beautiful. There was a lot of tree and limb debris all day long and one area where we had to take our packs off in order to climb over a large tree that had fallen. Most of our hike today was downhill as we made our way to the Nantahala Outdoor Center which is directly in from of the trail. It’s a well-known area for AT thru hikers and local outdoor sports enthusiasts. As soon as we arrived we had a good lunch and then printed our passes that will be needed to hike thru the Great Smokey Mountains National Park which we will be entering in a few days. We are staying in a 4 bed bunk house which is literally just that. Nothing more. There is a shower facility and also a place to wash our clothes. Unfortunately, as soon as we arrived the power went out and, 4 hours later, has still not been restored. We desperately need to wash our clothes and recharge our phones so we are hoping for the best. The weather today, after we got on trail, was beautiful and sunny with a stiff breeze – a marked improvement from yesterday. Tomorrow we have a very steep climb from our bunkhouse (chart below) as we make our way towards Fontana Dam where we should arrive on Tuesday.