It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…. it was a group of us 5 miles into a two night 25 miles backpacking trip in Linville Gorge when it started raining. We made camp and set up a tarp to hide from the rain for a bit. After an evening spent huddling together and taking turns on the jet boil, we decided to call it a night, hoping we’d be awoken by sun and clear skies. We were not. Instead the rain only came down harder, and we were woken by thunder. After a lengthy debate, unsuccessful attempts at checking the radar, and a cold breakfast, we decided to call it on this backpacking trip and head back towards Asheville. As we finished our 5 mile hike out, pulled into the convenient mountain brewery, and tried to dry out, we turned back towards the gorge only to see a rainbow staring back at us. That day god winked at us.