SNOW !

Dan has had quite an adventurous couple of days in the snow!  Yesterday and today have both been cold, blustery, gloomy, snowy, dead of winter type days.  After taking the later shuttle from the motel back to the trail yesterday morning, he hiked in snow all day.  In places where the trail was on the wind facing side of the mountain, the drifts were knee high at times.  He made his way up and out of GA and crossed the NC line at Bly Gap. 

Dan at GA / NC Line





He and a fellow hiker arrived about 5:00 at Muskrat Creek shelter in the snow only to find it overflowing with hikers and no space available.  The next shelter was 5 miles further down the trail.  This is where I would have just laid down and said hypothermia go ahead and take me, but Dan just plowed on down to the next shelter.  Arriving just ahead of dark, he found the shelter was 1.) facing into the wind and the floor covered with snow, and 2.) two other hikers had actually set up their tents inside the shelter taking up all the space.  So after walking the extra 5 miles, he had to set up his tent in about 6 inches of snow.  Wait........ it gets better.   When he woke up this morning his shoes and socks were frozen solid.  Couldn't bend his shoes, so he boiled water and poured it in his shoes to thaw them out, then put them on wet and started hiking in snow again!   He made it 17 miles yesterday and 7 more today and secured a spot in a shelter for tonight.  Seems as though most of the hikers are sitting tight and taking a break through the snow storms, so space in the shelters is at a premium.  Tomorrow, he plans to hike 16 miles into Franklin NC, where he will take a couple of days off to rest his knee and visit Kaity, his girlfriend.

Where's the white blaze?

Snow!

The knarly oak at Bly Gap as Dan saw it yesterday and as I saw it on a section hike this summer.