The Cold Night - And Day 3

If you're wondering why there are no pictures at the beginning of this it's because I didn't take any. The night was one of the roughest hiking nights I've had yet as the cold air set in for the night. Winds blew through the air at 25-30 mph most of the night and with the temperature dropping down to 21 degrees, that meant a wind chill of 1 to 3 above and my 15-degree sleeping bag was doing little to keep it out. The Double Springs shelter was not in the best of shape and the air was cutting right through the holes in the walls and also through my sleeping bag. Needless to say there was very little sleep happening on my side of the shelter. Dan and Wayne were getting some 'z's' as I could hear their snoring. I cuddled up into my sleeping bag as deep as I could get. When my toes touched the wall it was like putting them onto a block of ice. For 12 hours that's how it was and I ached for the sun to show itself once more. Finally at about 6 am the sky to the east began to lighten but even when the sun finally showed itself there was little it did to help warm up the body or the soul.

The next problem I found was when I looked at my water bottles next to me. All four of them were frozen. Two were solid and two were at least a little soft so I could break it up. I had done a lot of things right on this trip with the heavier clothes and the heavier sleeping bag but one area I had made a mistake was my packing my food bag with something hot for breakfast. It was just another part of learning how to handle the big hikes and I know it won't be a mistake I'll make next time. Like they say you live and learn.

I had made up my mind during the night that I would come down off the mountain this day. I knew the temperature was supposed to drop down to 19 and I wasn't quite in the mood to go through another night like this one. I didn't feel so bad about it because there were at least four other hikers besides me that did the same thing. I hiked back up towards Clingman's and then took a side trail toward the parking lot. That half-mile wasn't easy as glaze ice in some places was 3-4 inches thick and made for some hazardous walking. But finally I was in open sunlight so the body could warm up a bit more.

After taking a water and snack break I started walking down the road, sticking my thumb out when a car or truck would pass. After walking about a mile two fine gentlemen from Cincinnati gave me a lift back to my truck. I was feeling much better as the sun came through and the heater made me feel all comfy.

But it doesn't end there. I decided I had time to drive the Roaring Fork Auto Trail so I gave myself a little treat. I knew there would be color along the river on the back side and since I hadn't got a lot of pictures I decided I would take the time and do some shooting. And now you get to see what I found. Below are the pictures I found that afternoon. Needless to say it was a photographer's paradise.

The next big hike??? Aaaah...the plan is for the Presidential Range in New Hampshire in July. If I get a good weekend in December I'll do a 24-miler on a trail near here. But I know you want to see those pictures so here they are. I'll be back soon.

Chilled In The Smokies - Day 2

During the night I knew of a cold front that would change how the next couple of days would be. Around 10pm it started raining heavily. Those of you who have hiked before know the feeling how it is in a completely black shelter with rain pounding on the roof. It was loud. The rain lasted about two hours or so and then it got quiet for a while. Then the front itself came blasting through and with it 50-60 mph winds. You might ask how I would know how fast wind was blowing. Spend a week on Mt. Washington in New Hampshire and you can tell by the sound. This was a big wind and kept me wondering if any trees were going to come down on the shelter. By morning it had changed even more as the temperature began to steady fall. By daylight the thermometer had dipped below freezing. Chris and Carrie (above in this picture) took on a morning snack. We watched as we saw clouds whipping by overhead and ice beginning to form on the trees.

After getting our stuff together Chris and Carrie went one direction and I went the other. They had come in from the west and were headed to the Peck's shelter for a 17-mile day. I, on the other had was headed west on my way to Clingman's Dome and the Double Springs shelter. I don't know they went the whole 17 miles or not but I can say I'm sure they're walk was every bit as chilling as mine...and I mean chilling in the cold sense of the word. One of the first things I began to notice on my way up was more ice being seen on the trees. This was rime ice like you on the Rockpile in New Hampshire. With every cloud that came blasting by another new layer of ice would form. At first was just seeing it in the tree tops but the higher I got the lower ice was forming. After a while some of the ice was forming just three or four feet from the ground. Every once in a while I came to a spot where I could watch the clouds blast over the mountain. Patches of blue soon began showing itself as the clouds started to break up.

As I began get closer to the ridge top there were breaks in the trees so that I could see the other mountains and how far the ice came up on them. It appeared that once you were about 5,000 feet you were in the rime zone. Winds of 25-35 mph sustained kept pushing more clouds over the mountain and more white would be deposited on the trees. I wasn't doing too bad as far as how I felt. My layering kept me from chilling even as I stopped to take these pictures. I think because of the fact I was seeing something up here I hadn't experienced before it was making me forget about the cold too. The higher I went the thicker the ice got. I was even finding broken chunks of rime ice on the ground that was being blown off the trees above me. I'm just glad it's very light so that you don't get clobbered on the head. With big winds even the lightest of rime ice can hurt. I know that from experience. This, however, wasn't that bad.

The next pictures will show you how the ice was building up and maybe even give you an idea of how cold it was beginning to get. As I climbed closer to the Dome I wondered how many people I would see making their way to the tower. I figured there would be some hearty souls willing to make the trip and see the ice I was seeing. It would still be a while yet from where this picture was taken. The northwest sides of the mountains were getting the biggest blasts. If you had stood on the ridge you could seen white on one side and brown on the upper elevations with trees of color still down in the valleys.

This tree had to most impressive rime ice coating I found. The ice here was in the neighborhood of two to three inches thick on the tree limbs. It was one of those that stood out against the blue sky. But that blue had some serious bite with it with the wind. Farther up there were less trees to block it out of the way so keeping moving was a big thing. If you were sweating heavily at all (which I was at this point) you were in danger of becoming hypothermic from the cold. Moving and keeping warm doing it was vital at this point. A little later I finally came to the tower at the dome. It had ice on it as well and I was surprised to see several people making their way up the paved trail to the tower. The bottom section was covered with ice and everybody looking over the tower caught the most wind in the open. I didn't do the tower thing, instead crossing the top and going downhill. I still just over two and a half miles to go to get to Double Springs.
I followed two day hikers down the trail for a while then found a rhythm and passed them in an area of spruce trees. It was about a 2 hours walk and I finally got to the shelter. The first thing was to get out of the sweaty clothes and hang them out to dry. Luckily I had brought another dry long sleeved shirt and my parka from Mt.Washington. The black polypropylene shirt dried out very quickly but my other shirts were taking longer. With the temps dropping even colder my sweaty fleece jacket froze up with the arms looking like they had been over starched. I put on my polyprop bottoms and another dry pair of pants as well. The smart wool socks were doing their job so right now the feet weren't a problem.

The two men I had passed soon came to the shelter for a lunch snack. It was the two that came in next that caught my attention. These were thru-hikers that had started in Maine and were doing the whole AT at one time. They were pulling 25 mile days and looked like they were out on a little stroll. They were headed to the Spence shelter, several miles down the trail yet. They had 192 miles left on the whole trail and were planning on doing it in ten days. At the rate they were moving when I saw them I expect they were done before then.

Next to the shelter I watched a chipmunk, who didn't seem phazed at all by the cold. He spent the entire afternoon carried nuts to a den next to the shelter wall. Back and forth he went, out into the bushes and then back with his mouth full. I know I watched for at least 3 hours. Even as I cooked up some chicken and noodles (with a pack of salmon thrown in) he just kept filling his den.

After eating I climbed into the sleeping bag where I was able to warm up some more. I was glad I had brought the 15-degree bag with me. My 30 degree bag would have make the pack lighter but I knew from looking at the NWS website this was going to be a cold one. What I didn't know was that it was going to be more than I expected. As it began to get dark I thought I was going to be by myself all night but two 'Bama guys, Dan and Wayne, showed up after a 17 mile jaunt. They were glad to make the shelter as well and quickly fired up their stoves. Before long all three of us were hoping to be snug as a rug in out bags. It didn't quite go that way though. But that comes in Part 3.

Back To The Smokies - Day 1
Hi guys...I know it's been a while but now I'm back with a new adventure.

Not too long ago I went back to the Smokey Mountains for a new hike. I got up at 3:30 in the morning so I would miss most of the rush hour traffic but did hit a mess by the time I got to Knoxville, TN. But by 9:30 I was at the Sugarland Vistor's Center to get my permits and everything else I would need for what was supposed to be a six-day walk.
Monday was a grand day with temps in the low 60's. Though I wasn't acclimated I was feeling pretty good as I starter up the Chimney Tops Trailhead. If you've been on that you know it's steep but it's a great trail with a stream following you up and all the little waterfalls along the way. A side trail later on takes you up to the Appalachian Trail and the stream goes with it. One thing I noticed was a lot of trees blown down along the way. There had definitely been some big winds since trip here last year.

That second trail was really nice as well with the stream moving its way up the mountain. I met a couple who were on their way down as I was about halfway up. I really hadn't expected to see anybody on that part but it was nice to see that I wasn't completely alone up there. A lot of people do the Chimney Tops trail but I hadn't thought about many doing the next section. It was a pleasant surprise to say the least. After talking for several minutes they went down while I continued my climb up. The area down there is under an extreme drought situation and no camp fires of any kind can be lit. That had me wondering how the next couple of days were going to be because I knew there was going to be a change in the weather. You'll see that a little later in the next section. The higher I got the more blown down trees I found. One area looked like somebody had stomped all the trees to the ground and I figured some type of storm-related microburst must have slammed into the ground.

I got to this one spot where I found this most unusual bridge. Needless to say this was a one lane bridge made up of what looked to be like a long pine log. It could have been some other hardwood tree but I was just glad it was able to hold my weight. It wasn't that high off the rocks but a person would surely be bruised up if they had a fall from it. It was a nice little spot to take a break and also to fill your water bottle if you needed to. From where I started it was a 3.3 mile trek to the AT so any place to get water was welcome, especially with the dry conditions. Fortunately for me with the cooler air I didn't drink that much on the way up (although you really need to when you're exerting yourself that much) so I had plenty of water for the next 3.3 section on my way to the Mt. Collins shelter.
There were a lot more blowdowns higher up the mountain as well. Many of the spruce and pine trees had been uprooted with some root systems bigger than the room I'm typing this from. I don't have any pictures of those because I didn't have anything to scale it by but you can trust me that the root systems were huge. I stopped at one spot for a snack and water break then went on my way. By 2:30 I was at Mt. Collins and at 4:00 eating on a package of freeze-dried lasagna. I have to say that is one of my most favorite hiking meals to carry along. A one-serving pack fills you up and gives you what you need for the next day...and it tastes good too.
A little later a couple from south Alabama, Chris and Carrie Woodham, came into the shelter for the night. It was not quite the night we expected. But that is to come in day two.