Date: 2019-03-04
From: Newport Tennessee 

To: Newport Tennessee 
Miles today: 0.0

AT day 16 Frigid weather Zero day 1Two escape several days of extremely cold weather, I¢m hunkered down at the Quality Inn in Newport, Tennessee. As I mentioned earlier my sleep system won't keep me warm below 20 degrees. The weather is calling for teens with negative wind-chill temperatures. I don't mind hiking in frigid weather but I don't like to shiver in my bag at night.  I went to Walmart to pick up supplies and food to eat in the hotel. I¢m going to describe what my typical day on the AT is like. Every day is pretty much the same. I wake up without an alarm and psych myself up for getting out of my warm sleeping bag. I slowly get changed and pack up my gear. The most unpleasant thing is putting on my cold, wet and stinky socks and shoes. I retrieve my food bag and eat my secret weapon breakfast of chia seeds, protein powder, flavored oats, coffee, and walnuts. All of these ingredients are soaked together overnight in a jar. The result is a delicious pudding packed with nutrients. I also drink a whole bottle of vanilla tea to hydrate myself and get an extra caffeine kick. Next I make a deposit at the privy or a cat hole. Then I just start walking north. Exciting isn¢t it. I always start with a slow pace to warm up my muscles. The older I get the longer it takes to start feeling loose and fluid. Years of triathlon training have taught me how to listen to signals that my body is sending. I¢m constantly monitoring for any unusual pain or muscle tightness. Whenever I feel a pain or strain that persists for more than a few strides I stop and stretch. Stretching normally works. I have several key stretches that I¢ve learned over the years. Sometimes it¢s just a matter of changing my stride length or posture. I don¢t stop to eat. I eat every 2 hours while I hike. I eat a Kind Bar, then a Nature Valley bar and finally a Cliff Bar. I have a snack bag filled with Worther Originals and Gobstoppers to enjoy. I start looking for a water source around noon. While I filter water I¢ll eat 2 tablespoons of chocolate peanut butter. I chug a whole bottle of water (called cameling up) and then put an Amazing Grass tablet in the bottle I will hike with. If it¢s hot and it is going to be a long dry stretch I¢ll fill up another bottle. One 750 ml water bottle weighs about 2 pounds so it¢s a trade off between carrying extra weight or losing time to filter water. No matter what the locals say about spring water being safe to drink, I¢m going to filter all of my water. The rest of the story is just hiking up and down mountains. Some climbs are easy others make you work hard. Same thing with the descents. Some are so smooth I can jog down then, while others are technically difficult and require me to step carefully and use trekking poles to keep my balance and to slow myself down. I try to get to camp with at least an hour of daylight remaining. I setup my tent and then cook a hot meal. Dinners consists of food that you bring to a boil and then let sit in an insulated cozy for 20 minutes. While I wait for my food to soak I blow up my sleeping pad, shake my sleeping bag to fluff up the down and filter more water. After dinner I hang my Ursack food bag if there are bear cables or tie it to a tree. Finally I try to recall the highlights of my day and record them in my journal. So what keeps me going day after day doing the same thing? Why don¢t I get bored?  Throughout the day I will try to use all of my senses to immerse myself in nature. There is always something special to discover even in the pouring rain. I also see my journey as an athletic challenge. At home I love to work out and push myself to get stronger and faster. Each day on the trail is another opportunity to get stronger. It¢s almost like an endurance athlete¢s dream vacation.