Date: 2013-03-06
From: Hog Pen Gap

To: Blue Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: overcast clouds

On our way back to the trail this morning, Keith took us to the Sweet Water Cafe, a small, folksy coffee shop. He said we would love it, and we did. The proprietor, Caroline, was delightful. We were her first customers of the day, and she treated us to a fresh-out-of-the-oven blueberry scone and Ugandan, free trade, organic coffee. As we visited with Caroline, who was very interested in our hike, I was completely content and leaned back in my chair. The words "grace" and "peace" came to my relaxed mind. Outside the coffee shop in the valley it was snowing lightly. But Keith told us that he was concerned for us since the weather report was for strong winds and significant snow in the higher elevations. He even wondered if the road might be closed that we needed to take to get back to the trail. But that just didn't seem possible as we looked out the window and so with no worries we lingered and talked. As our visit came to an end Caroline said that we had made her day. I know that she had made our morning pleasant and memorable. We piled into Keith's jeep for the drive back to the trail. But the road to take us up the mountain to Hog Pen Gap had a barrier across it saying the road was closed due to snow and ice. The conditions still didn't seem so bad and in unison, Hoosier and I said we'd just hike the seven miles up the road to the trail crossing. We weren't happy about it, but there was nothing else to do. We started hiking and I quickly felt demoralized at the prospect of having to hike 7 cold miles on pavement just to just get back to the trail. Hoosier felt the same way and he stopped and prayed...can you pray for someone to ignore an official road sign? He did. We had hiked less than half a mile, when a local man, who had indeed ignored the "Road Closed" sign, came by. His two boys were skipping school so they could play in the snow at the higher elevations with their Dad. I flagged him down, and he was glad to have Hoosier and I climb into the back of his old, four wheel drive pickup truck. The driver put his truck in 4 wheel drive and up we went. The weather and road conditions did quickly turn dicey with strong winds, blowing snow and icy road surface. Soon Hoosier and I were praying again, but this time for a different reason. This time we were fearing for our health and safety as our driver "flew' up the mountain. When he wasn't praying, Hoosier kept yelling into the wind, "Slow down, slow down!" but, of course, our driver couldn't hear us and wasn't concerned anyway. He dropped us off where we needed to be, at the top of Hog Pen Gap, where the trail crosses the road. We were super-happy to have survived and to not have had to hike what would have been 7 miserable road miles. The best way I can describe the conditions at Hog Pen Gap is that it was like being on a Lake Michigan beach during a wild winter storm with nothing to stop the fierce, cold wind driving snow into your face. Hoosier and I were going to be in this fury all day and night, as we hiked into higher elevation, with the nearest bailout point fourteen miles away. It gave me pause for thought. I yelled over the wind to Hoosier, "Hoosier, I'm fine with this, but I don't know anyone else who would do this!" He smiled, and off we went.How cold it was depended on whether we were exposed to the wind. For a great deal of the hike, we were relatively comfortable as the trail was mostly on the side of the mountain sheltered from the wind. Winton says, "There is no such thing as bad weather. Just bad gear." So I guess, on this day, we had the proper gear and a sufficiently determined mindset.We reached Blue Mountain Shelter and decided to stay in it and out of the snow. A.T. shelters are built on a raised wooden platform and have three sides and a roof. The front is open so although you are somewhat sheltered from the wind, rain or snow the shelters cannot be described as warm and cozy. When we arrived two middle-aged men were already in their sleeping bags and had their heads covered up. We only spoke a few words with them all evening. We did find out that both had their doctorates and one was a physicist. Also here are Timber and Little Engine. This couple have been married for 6 years. This is their year to attempt a thru-hike since Timber recently completed 6 years in the military and will start college this Fall on the GI Bill. Also here in the shelter is Jeff. Jeff gives us all pause. Jeff is wearing jeans (no thru-hikers wear jeans) and a torn jean jacket. He says he has been at this shelter for three nights already. Why anyone would stay at this exposed shelter for three cold nights is beyond us. He doesn't even have a sleeping bag but just some old blankets. We saw that he has a rifle, large knife and long machete. Definitely not standard gear. I don't think we would have stayed at the shelter if he was the only one there. Yet he was very nice to everyone and was the one who worked hard to get a small fire going in front of the shelter with wet wood. An interesting exchange occurred when one of the men in the sleeping bags used Jesus' name in vain. Jeff said, "Do you have something against Jesus?" The man responded, "He has something against me." Then Little Engine quickly said, "Actually its just the opposite."As I write this the only sound for the last 45 minutes has been the loud snores of "Grizzly Bear" who is laying right next to me on the hard shelter boards. I don't know his actual trail name, but I am calling him "Grizzly Bear". He is a champion snorer...to say the least. I am warm. I'm glad to be here. And I'm glad to have met a whole new set of hikers. In case you were wondering, we have not seen any animals at all. No bears. No deer. No wild boars. Not even a squirrel. Apparently, they are all smart enough to stay out of the cold.