Date: 2004-03-22
From: Gooch Gap

To: Woods Hole Shelter
Miles today: 10.2
Weather: clear sky

I was cold last night despite wearing most of my clothing inside my sleeping bag. When I woke up I checked the thermometer on my pack. It said it was 40 degrees, which seemed pretty warm for how it felt. Just as I was thinking my sleeping bag must be really under-rated I noticed the frost on the netting of my tent.   Someone else said it was about 24 degrees. I had to break the ice in my water bag and the rinse water froze to my pot before I could dry it off. Brrrrrrr! I guess I must have been laying on the thermometer and warming it up so it gave a false reading.I found myself hiking more strongly. I was the last one to leave the campsite and was passed by two men and then by a man in sandels carrying a guitar and accompanied by two small dogs. By early afternoon I repassed all of them. Knowing that space in the next shelter was limited and that if I slowed they would all pass me and gobble up the shelter, I hiked as fast as I could without stopping for an instant.   The two dogs ran along by my feet all the way to the turnoff to Woods Hole Shelter.Much to my surprise, I was the first one there. The floor was wood slats with gaps, so to try and keep the wind out I laid out my tent, then added a space blanket over that. I could not find my balaclava hat so had to settle for a pack towel under my regular brimmed hat to keep my head warm.I am hoping to get away in time to get a bed space at Neels Gap tomorrow. I can also replace my balaclava and maybe get a pair of fleece pants.Now it is 5pm and the shelter is more than full. Three more men have shown up, then a woman from Germany and a male-female couple who decided to move on. Four men are in the shelter leaving a respectful (and probably chilly) gap between them and me.   The other man is tenting and the German is in a bivy-sack outside along the side of the hut. I am probably going to bed soon, adding my Gortex pants to last night's ensemble in hopes of sleeping warmer. I could add the silkweight Capilene bottoms and midweight top, but this way means less undressing in the morning. I sure hope five bodies generate more heat than mine did last night. Oh well, there is always the climb over Blood Mountain in the morning to warm me up!No sooner did we go to bed than another half-dozen or so arrived! Everyone in the shelter lay with their heads out of the sleeping bags watching the new arrivals set up camp. I couldn't help giggling, we looked just like we were watching TV!   I guess it does not take much to be entertained out here!During the night I felt a BIT warmer perhaps. Though I missed my nice comfy balaclava. Next morning while trying to clear away my muddle of cap and pack towel, I found something in the way. It was my BALACLAVA! It had hung unnoticed and forgotten around my neck ever since I pulled it back off my head on the first warm moment of the previous day.Was I happy to see it again! Like much of my equipment, it has a story behind it. I wanted a fleece balaclava but everywhere I looked they were too big, heavy, loose and bulky. I looked all over the San Francisco area: REI, Any Mountain, Patagonia, Marmot Mountain House's beautiful Chalet-looking former church in Berkeley.   Finally high up in the sky in the ski shop at the top of the big gondola lift at Squaw Valley Ski Area I found just what I needed. A warm stocking-cap with a built-in neckpiece that converts it to a nice snug-fitting balaclava. In just two days I have fallen in love with it and am very glad to have it back.Anxious to beat the rush for the twelve bunks in the hostel at Neels Gap, I packed hurriedly, jammed my gorp bag and a couple Snicker's bars into the top pocket of my pack for later, then hit the Trail.