As forecast, it was bitterly cold this morning. Everything was still wet from yesterday, thankfully the rain had stopped but it was still really damp. Got a late start and the first bit of the trail was an 8 mile climb. Everyone was hiking on their own schedule so I hiked by myself most of the day.
Overall, it was a decent day until I hit the snow. As I kept climbing the the snow only got deeper.
Along the way I came across a decorated Christmas tree…
and a tiny snowman that El Dorado had made.
Had a cold, windy lunch at Beauty Spot Gap – yesterday’s planned destination. I’m glad that I didn’t keep going yesterday, I would’ve been camping in the worst of the snow and it would’ve been unpleasant.
Somehow, the sun coming out only made things worse. All the snow in the tree tops started melting and falling on me. Eventually I summited over Unaka mountain and started descending.
I was still hiking alone when I took my first fall of the hike. Crossing a stream I slipped on a rock and down I went. Luckily only my foot got soaked, the rest of me landed on the trail and nobody was around to see it.
I finally caught up with the group at Cherry Gap Shelter, but they were all putting their packs on. They wanted to go another 5 miles to a campsite to make the next couple of days a little shorter. I made for a long day, but eventually all of the miles need to be traversed.
Eventually, we made it. Took some time to build a fire and relax, even knowing that tomorrow is going to be over 20 miles.
It’s forecast to be in the 60s so I’m hoping that getting out of bed is a little easier. The shoes will still be wet, but it shouldn’t be as bad as this morning.
Day 38 Mileage: 17.1 mi [Curley Maple Gap Shelter -> Dispersed Campsite]
Total Mileage: 373.7 mi
Paul – gods goon bro again I’m jealous. Getting ready to get a ZPacks Nero pack. I’ve got their hexamid solo tent and their Vertice rain suit. The rain suit was awesome in Patagonia – LOTs of rain! I’m surprised you said your pack leaked…..still leaking? Is it perhaps the seam taping not done well?
Thanks man. As far as the ZPacks goes the seam tape on the bottom is already gone, and the webbing between the pack and my back has frayed and needs to be replaced before it fails completely. It’s a nice pack, but it has a lot of durability issues
Damn autocorrect – good going bro is what I meant to say