Date: 2017-05-06
From: Hogback Ridge Shelter 

To: Bald Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: light rain

Day 39 on the Appalachian TrailMay 6Miles Today: 10.1Total Miles: 325.9Another good night to spend inside a shelter. It was cold last night and temps were well below 40 for the night. At times, I was chilled inside my 15 degree bag and was forced to ball up inside it and pull the hood over my head and face. We only had 7 people in this shelter so it wasn't cramped and we were actually able to move around.Getting up was no easy task this morning. It was still freezing, the wind was blowing, and everything outside was soaked. Despite wanting to stay curled up in my sleeping bag for the day I knew it was important to get moving before the rain started again. With temps the way they were, getting wet would've been seriously dangerous as we were about to gain a lot of elevation meaning it would get even colder. I headed out around 7:30 and was moving as fast as I could to get to the next shelter. It was damn cold even while hiking which usually does a good job at warming you up but seemed to do nothing today. After a quick 2 miles I came to a interstate crossing at Sam's Gap where several trail angels had just arrived to give out some trail magic. I was hesitant to stop since I wanted to get to the shelter as quickly as possible. I ended up stopping and chatting for a little bit. I was generously offered a sugary snack, banana, orange juice, and best of all a rum and coke! I was thrilled and I couldn't believe I was having a mixed drink a little after 8 in the morning.. something I haven't done since my school career had ended. After finishing up my magic I continued down the trail. They had told me rain wasn't supposed to begin until 2pm so I relaxed a bit as I knew I would arrive well before then. The trail began to climb as I pushed my way up Big Bald Mountain. As I climbed temps began to drop more and more and before I knew it I was hiking in freshly fallen snow. I couldn't believe it. Snow.. in Tennessee... in May..... I thought it was supposed to be hot down here in the south. What gives!? As I continued, the snow got deeper and deeper and as I made the summit of the Bald it was a complete white out. The wind was whipping, it was maybe 35 degrees, fog had set in and I couldn't see more than a few feet in front of me, and the grass was completely covered in snow. I couldn't even see the blazes and I was now following Kinsmans footprints in the snow. Thankfully the shelter was less than 2 miles ahead at this point and I raced there to get out of the weather. I made it there just after 11 to find an empty shelter other than Kinsman. We set our gear up inside and we're glad to be out of the weather. With nothing else to do I got in my sleeping bag and rested for most of the day. As the day progressed, weather took a turn for the worse and it began to snow, sleet, and hail. Other hikers arrived throughout the day and the shelter began to fill up. People were wet, cold and could've been in some serious danger had they stayed out in the weather. We spent the rest of the day hanging out with some great people in the shelter. One hiker, Daddy Longlegs, had his dog with him named Cole. It was nice to spend some time around another dog but it made it more difficult for me to not be with Zealand. I ended up spending a good portion of the night thinking about her and felt the pull of home. I stared at the picture I have of her in my guidebook for several minutes and came to the realization that if there's anything that's going to make me leave the trail, it's going to be her. The physical aspect of hiking the trail is not all that difficult. Sure, there's hard mountains to climb and there's no doubt this is no vacation but that's not what will make me quit. All I can do now is look forward to getting to NH where I will be able to take her out on the trail with me. Feeling down, I put her picture away and got out of the shelter. For a brief moment, the sun powered its way through the fog and clouds just as it was setting below the mountain range and everyone was stunned with its beauty. The sky lit up in red, orange, yellow and green colors which instantly lifted everyone's spirits as we gazed at it in awe. We managed to get a fire going despite the conditions and spirits continued to rise. After enjoying its warmth for a bit I retired to my sleeping bag and was quickly asleep.