A Bit More "Fun"

On the 12th I left Hot Springs late in the afternoon and did 8.3 miles to camp near the Rich Mountain lookout tower. On the 13th I did 18.1 miles and camped at Jerry Cabin shelter. On the 14th I did 14.7 miles and stayed at Hogback Ridge shelter. On the 15th I did 10.1 miles and stayed at Bald Mountain shelter. On the 16th I did 16.4 miles and stayed in Erwin, TN.

This last section of the trail provided me with perhaps the most extreme weather I have ever hiked through. It rained heavily the night before, as well as all day, then it got cold and started to have frozen precipitation. It seemed like a mix of snow and ice. This in and of itself is not overly bad, I kind of enjoy it to be honest. The real downside was the intense winds. For the most part even with winds it wasn't that bad until the middle of the afternoon when I got to the top of Big Bald Mountain. Big Bald features a nice grassy top for about a mile of trail. Here are a few photos that do not do it justice. 

What these photos fail to truly capture is the fact that the wind was quite strong. At least the photo with me shows the ice on one side of my face giving you some idea what direction the wind was coming from. When I got the shelter I had to crack all the ice off my jacket before I could even take it off. That night many people in the shelter were uncomfortably cold but I slept great. Sleeping warm is quite the advantage this year on the trail. The next was gorgeous and made for a nice walk into town.

I think I am mostly past the snow but I still have to go over Roan mountain which is where I got snowed on last time. Many people are looking toward to the warmer weather but I am enjoying the diversity of temperatures. One day it snows the next its 65 and sunny. It is a little less repetitive walking through the woods when the weather could be just about anything. Soon enough it will just be hot all the time and I will be dreaming of ice and snow.