Date: 2004-02-18
From: Mt Collins Shelter

To: Tri-Corner Knob shelter
Miles today: 20.1
Weather: clear sky

Start time: 0815End time: 1930Morning weather: clear and cold, well below freezingAfternoon weather: bright cloudless sky, warm, low 40s, perfect weatherEvening weather: crystal clear, every star imaginable was out; cold, my thermometer read 15 deg before I went to bedBreakfast: oats and CIBLunch: Snickers bar, cashews, granola bars, paydayDinner: Hamburger Helper, stroganoffTrail description: One of my favorite stretches so far. Still very deep snow, but for the most part a very solid crust. The views were unimaginable.People: the Solemates, tourists at Newfound GapWildlife: birds and squirrelsMoney spent: noneComplaints: left shoulder, cold frozen boots then cold wet boots after afew miles.Thoughts: We woke up and packed up as quickly as possible and were on the trail by 0800. Our goal was 0730 but it took that full half hour for us all to get our boots on. Ouch. They were frozen solid and didn't make for a comfortable morning¢s walk. I will never buy a pair of non-waterproof boots again. I don't care if they breath better and dry out quicker; they get wet when they shouldn't. Gortex is the best thing to happen to boots in my opinion. A lot of people swear bynon-waterproof or non-Gortex boots, but not for me and not in the winter. I hiked all day again with the Solemates. The day went by so fast as we conversed the whole day. Jacob spent most of the day talking while I fed him question after question. We covered Camp Challenge which is a team building and leadership camp put on by the Army each summer at Fort Knox. Something I am very interested in for a few weeks next summer. It should be a great tool I can use to help me be a proficient and efficient leader both now in school and later as an officer. We stopped only for pictures a Charlies Bunion and ate lunch on the go. The Bunion was surrounded by a snow swept landscape and illuminated by a cloudless sky. When we got back on the AT I remembered standing at this very same spot a year ago with Andy. This was as far north as I had ever been on the AT. Everything from here to Katahdin would be new. I vowed a year ago to return to this very spot but this time I would not turn back for Icewater Shelter, but rather carry-on north bound. I said to myself, "Well, Andy, here goes nothing". As we marched across the Sawteeth we continued our conversations.   for a good hour Jacob talked about all the cool things in North Carolina within 4 hours from their home. What a great place to live. He then asked, "What¢s in Michigan?" Well, needless to say it took me about 10 minutes. "We got lakes, sand, and a little snow." The most interesting thing I learned was that pickup basketball games have the same "house rules" almost everywhere. Jacob played a lot of hoops at Clemson (pronounced clemzin or clempson) and I my fair share at Grand Valley State. The first game is always to 15, everything after to 12, no continuation on fouls (meaning if you call a foul and make the shot you don't get the bucket but the ball up top). Also we both decided that between 4 and 6 in the afternoon is whenthe best ballers show up. We exchanged pickup game war stories and then moved onto high school sports. I will spare ya'll the details. Before we knew it the sun was down and we found ourselves in the dark. As we lost ourselves in conversation, we slowed down to below 2 mph. Oops. So we donned headlamps and hiked the last hour in the dark. When we got to Tri-Corner we met a trail maintenance volunteer who was also going to spend the night at the shelter. We all ate silent supper and fell fast asleep. The 20.1 mile day went by fast, but we could feel it in our very bones.