Date: 2010-02-15
From: Carter Gap Shelter

To: Big Spring Shelter
Miles today: 7.0
Weather: clear sky

I think my favorite sport in the Olympics is the one in which you make your way through the snow, you stop, you shoot a gun, and then you continue on. In most of the world, it is known as the biathlon, except in New York City, where it is known as winter.                               ~ Michael Ventre, L.A. Daily NewsThe night seemed long and cold (a familiar theme here?). At one point I woke up and felt ice crystals falling around me. That seemed odd since I was well back in a shelter with a generous roof, but I could hear the wind blowing and knew that rain/snow/whatever had been in the forecast. I pulled my tent (which I'd been using more like a bivvy sack) more up over my sleeping bag and got back to sleep.When I woke up in the morning I looked around, dreading all the new ice. However, I discovered that all the ice crystals were only around ME. They weren't covering the shelter floor. They weren't around the picnic table. Only within a two foot radius of me.I read somewhere once that the average human exhales a liter of water at night while sleeping. I think I got a good visual of what that looks like. The moisture in my breath as I exhaled all night immediately formed ice crystals and fell back all over me. It's a good thing I try to make sure to keep my nose and mouth clear of the sleeping bag or all that moisture would have soaked my bag.Even though I was exhausted from my long day yesterday, and even though the sleeping bag was nice and warm (comparatively), I forced myself to get up and get a move on. I thought how it had taken me 11 1/2 hours to do the 12.5 miles from Muskrat Creek Shelter to Carter Gap Shelter. How long would it take me to get to Big Spring Shelter? If the snow predicted for the morning turned out to be substantial it would only make the trail worse.I'm still trying to work out some of the logistics in making and breaking camp. For instance, I don't want to put on my cold, wet boots until just before leaving camp, preferring my dry Crocs while packing up. However, the sleeping bag gets packed into the pack as one of the first steps. But the warmed sleeping bag is where my boots are to keep them from freezing. What to do? What to do?Finally I was ready to go. I left the shelter at 8:45, having had a good breakfast."And she's off!""Yes, Bob. It's another leg of the AT Winter Olympic Biathlon for Second Stage. She's not your typical competitor in this winter sport, but there you have it.""Al, she reminds me of Eddie the Eagle ski jumper from many years back. She's clearly out of her league, and too, she has a style that can only be called all her own. The judges aren't expecting a speedy run from her on this leg, but we'll break in with continuing coverage of her progress."Shortly after I left the shelter, the clouds cleared off revealing a beautiful blue sky. The snow in the sunshine was lovely. I just wished I didn't have to go through it all. I kept pushing myself to make progress, thinking of the possibly long day ahead of me.I was crunching through snow that was mid-calf deep with a fairly thick crust. Unfortunately, the crust wasn't thick enough to hold me. (Must have been all the good food Robin fed me in Hiawassee.) That meant that with every step the snow gave way, and then chunks of ice would drag on my foot when I tried to lift it. Not bad for a little while, but this went on much of the day. Other places the wind had piled the snow up to my hips. I felt like I was *swimming* the AT!About a mile and a half after leaving the shelter I almost passed by a lovely little lookout point. I decided that if I couldn't stop and get a few pictures, there just wasn't any point in my being out on the trail in the first place. So I stopped and dug out my Blackberry."Al, did you see that? She's so busy skiing, trying to beat the clock that she almost missed the mandatory shooting stage. Looks like she's having a little trouble, fumbling with her equipment.""Right, Bob. Seems like she should have practiced so that the stop would be second nature. Other biathalon athletes work at it until putting down the ski poles and unslinging the gun are second nature. There! She's finally ready to point and shoot. But she's taking so long, fussing with lining everything up. At least she shot clean!""She's off again, racing along the course! We'll get back to you when there's any new information."I came to a place where a bit of water was trickling down the side of some rocks and across the trail. I paused to catch a bit of water in my water bottle. The trickle was small enough that it took awhile to collect much. I paused to eat a little and drink the water I'd collected. I returned to the trickle to discover that even in those few minutes the strength of the flow had increased noticeably. I can only assume that the sunlight on the snow was melting it enough to send more water down the slope. It was startling to see how much the flow had increased in so short a time. I guess once the temps get back up to average, the snow will come off the mountains pretty quickly. All those starting later on the trail will miss all the fun.As I dropped down the slope into Betty Creek Gap, the snow changed to a soft powder. Instead of breaking through with every step, I sent up a bow wake of snow as I slid and shuffled my way downhill."Look at that, Bob! She's really working hard now. Look at the powder fly as she skates that slope. I guess the snow isn't packed enough for her to get a good tuck and ride it. But, then again, she's never been one to follow convention, anyway.""Yes, Al. She's working very hard, but she's not picking up any speed on the course. We'll just have to wait and see."I huffed and puffed my way uphill to Mooney Gap, driven by the time ticking away on my watch. Would I be able to make it to the shelter while it was still light, or would I have to look for the water source in the dark again? Would I be able to settle in comfortably when I got there or would I be fighting off hypothermia? Would this pretty day hold, or would the snow, ice and *winds* of yesterday return?I came to the narrow traverse of the side of Big Butt. How appropriate! The trail here was narrow - only about 2 feet wide, with a steep drop off on my right. Given my fear of heights, I ran into trouble with the trail. This stretch required a number of step ups and step downs (3-6 feet, or so). Normally this wouldn't have been too big a deal, although it would have slowed me down as I negotiated the steps over and around rocks, carefully choosing my footing. But with the snow masking what was underneath I had to slow down even more. What was under that snow? Was it loose snow for a few feet that would give way as I stepped on it? Or was it a rock covered with just inches of snow that would support me? Was that a log underneath that ran the whole span so I could walk across, or was did it run only part way across, ready to give out when I reached the end?"Bob, look at the way she's handling Big Butt Crack. The other competitors simply plowed through, pounding across the gaps. I know she's using her poles a lot. That's a good thing, but it just doesn't look like she's got the heart for this part of the course. She's employing her usual 'sissy-step' when the going gets tough. Too fearful.""Yes, Al. And did you notice that she missed the second shooting portion on the course? The view out across the valley was a required shot!""Looks like she's too focused on the time. Yet she's not making fast enough time to make up for the lack of shots."I reached the road at Bearpen Gap. The Forest Service roads were all gated and locked for the winter. But I knew about the blue-blaze (side trail, not part of the AT) that would bypass Albert Mountain. I'd heard from Teardrop that the exposed ledges of Albert Mountain were all covered in ice and hazardous. I was afraid to tackle them, especially after such a tiring day, with the sun sinking lower and lower.As I used the road to wind around the mountain, bypassing the summit, the wind blew chill again. I forced myself to push through the snow faster, partly to speed my progress, and partly to warm myself. I used my arms and poles to push myself along."Can you believe that, Bob? She's off the course! That's a bad weather route she's taking! And the sun is shining!""Yes, it will be interesting to hear what the judges have to say about this! It's possible that they will interpret the rules to allow Second Stage to use the blue blaze given the trail conditions, not strictly weather conditions. We'll just have to wait and see how she finishes the ski run."The road ended at the blue blaze trail (Thanks for the info, Sherpa Dave and Goldberry!). I headed up the old, abandoned road, pushing hard. Eventually the trail ran into the AT. Ah! White blazes once again! I'd missed .6 miles of the AT. I'd planned to not blue blaze on this hike, but given the treacherous conditions, I decided that a bad weather route was more prudent.Almost immediately, I found the shelter. It was 17:30. There was a good water source, behind and to the left of the shelter. There was a cable for hanging bearbags (foodbags), but I could only find the horizontal part, not the part for raising/lowering the bags. After a number of tries, I got a line up over the cable so I could get my food up out of harm's way.When I went to get my boots off, I found that my laces had frozen. I was chilling down fast at this point. I shivered and shook, trying to get the laces loose and get the wet wool socks off so I could dry my cold, pruned feet and put dry socks on. I put my cold boots into a large plastic bag and stuffed them down into my sleeping bag. Then I changed into my dry sleeping thermals.I finished the rest of my camp chores, such as making and eating dinner, heating my nightly water bottle to put in the foot of my sleeping bag to keep both my feet and boots unfrozen. I hurried to get into the bag and warm up. I shivered and shivered trying to warm up.Eventually, I fell asleep from sheer exhaustion: 8.75 hours to go 6.8 miles."Well, Bob. She finally finished the course.""Yes, Al. She did. As usual, with her own style. No matter how ridiculous.""But, Bob. Do you think someone should tell her?" "What? That it's usual when skiing a 10K biathlon...one uses *skis*, not just the boots?"