Date: 2014-08-03
From: Little Bigelow Lean-to

To: Horns Pond Lean-to
Miles today: 10.2
Weather: few clouds

4 summits, 3 moutains and 1 steep downhill...all in a day's work!We had been anxiously anticipating today for quite some time since most everyone on the trail had been explaining Avery peak as basically a straight up and a straight down. Since we cut yesterday short we would now have to complete the whole Bigelow mountain range all in one day. Whew, that seemed a bit daunting to say the least. We estimated it would take about 11 hours (including a lunch break) to complete so we got an early start and started hiking at 6:30 am (which meant my watch alarm was set for 4:45am). Because of the early morning wake up call we were greeted with some pretty awesome views during the climb up Little Bigelow. After summiting, it was hard to get excited because with a little turn of the head we could see what we had in store for ourselves the rest of the day. Avery peak looked so ominous! Let me tell ya, everyone's description of Avery peak was pretty accurate! Luckily it hadn't rained the day before so the huge boulders we had to maneuver up and over were a little less treacherous. After almost 3 hours of huffing and puffing we finally reached the summit and what a reward we received at the top. The view was great (which apparently doesn't happen as much in the southern states of the AT) and there was even a plaque on a boulder dedicating the peak to Myron Avery whose "foresight leadership and diligence made possible this Appalachian Trail". There were literally zero trees so the 360 degree view at the peak was pretty cool. Dan being a little afraid of heights didn't want to hang out too long so we moved along after a few quick pictures.After taking a quick break at the Avery campsite (where we wanted to stay last night) we mad our way to Bigelow Mountain (which we personally didn't feel it was as impressive as Avery) and were a little disappointed there wasn't a summit sign at the top. To make matters worse, the clouds started turning grey and we heard some rumbling in the distance...it appeared a storm would be approaching soon. Because of this we tried kicking it into high gear as the rain started in to get up and over South Horn. It's never easy deciding to go up in elevation when the weather looks like it could take a turn for the worse real quick. Maybe that adreline rush benefited us because it detracted us from the terrain and the steep descent into Horns Pond Lean-to. We had made it to our destination without any issue!Up until now we had been inquiring with other hikers what to do if ever caught on top of a mountain in a lightning storm. The general response had been "run like hell down the mountain". Unfortunately this advice does us no good considering there's no running down a mountain at our 1 mph pace! As luck would have it there was an actual caretaker stationed at the lean-to (I think because the shelter is located at such a high elevation-3,183 ft.) so we sought his professional advice. He told us the real danger in a lightning storm is being the tallest thing so if you're below treeline you run a low risk of getting struck since the trees are taller. HOWEVER if we would ever get stuck above treeline on a rock covered summit, he taught us the lightning position, crouching down as low as possible without touching your hands on the ground and having your feet be the only body part in contact to the ground (kindof like a deep wall sit) to assume if we were ever in this situation. A very uncomfortable position to say the least! Apparently lightning doesn't bend well so if you were struck in this position the bend in your knees would prevent the lightning from traveling to your heart, which is what would kill you. Sure you'd be injured but still alive. I can't say how relieved we were to be armed with this new insight. Just knowing what to do eased our minds tremendously. We couldn't say thank you enough to the caretaker for this valuable and useable information! Yet another lesson on the trail...I just hope we never have to put it into action.Dan and Jen (until we get trailnames)