Date: 2008-02-27
From: Big Spring Shelter

To: Franklin, NC
Miles today: 9.1
Weather: clear sky

Lessons learned when hiking in 10 degree F weather1. It's really cold2. Water freezes really quickly. I was smart enough last night to sleep with our two nalgene bottles so when we woke up they had not frozen. Both of our packs have holsters on the side for holding the bottles. The positioning of these holsters combined with a slightly leaned forward hiking posture means the water is constantly sloshing against the inside of the lid. 30 min down the trail and we stopped for water. It took everything I had to pry open the top. Once open, I saw that a half inch thick layer of ice was standing between me and my water. I broke out the knife, chiseled through, and we drank out of what felt like a sippy cup.3. It's really really cold.4. Unlike the water bottles, I forgot to sleep with our contact cases. Good thing I brought glasses, because when I want to put my contacts in, I found them suspended in a block of ice. The thought of chiseling them out with my knife did cross my mind, but I decided to wait and let them thaw out slowly. And yes, this turned out to be the best choice since apparently freezing contacts doesn't destroy them as I am wearing them now.5. It's really really really cold.6. Toothpaste can in fact freeze. We went to brush our teeth and basically had to stand on the tube to get anything out and when we finally did get something out it felt like your were brushing your teeth with a small white pebble.7. It's really really really really cold.8. It is possible to make a brick-like material by taking a pile of baby wipes, placing them in a ziplock, hanging them from a bear bag line and turning the temp down to 10 degrees F for approximately 10 hours. I'm certain you could a house with what this recipe creates. It could be the building material of the future! (It has been sitting in a toasty hotel room for a few hours now and is still pretty solid).9. It's really really really really really cold.10. Finally, the funniest lesson learned is that a pile of poop doesn't stink once it has been chilled down to 10 degrees F. Frozen poop doesn't stink! Eureka! Or at least the moldering privy at Big Spring Shelter didn't smell and it smelled some kind of badly like poop the night before.Amanda woke me up around 6AM this morning saying we had to go. She was cold and hadn't slept much all night. We set off around 7AM and it was so very cold. My breath kept fogging up my glasses making it nearly impossible to see. We were hiking through a winter wonderland which at first sounds great, but when it is 10 degrees F, you can't see out of your glasses, and about every 30ft or so the top of your pack snags an overhanging branch dumping yet another truck load of snow on your neck, winter wonderland becomes snowy sadistland. We saw some boar and raccoon tracks in the snow. This is as close to interesting wildlife we have come on this trip so far. In fact, when people ask us if we've seen any animals, we reply: "Yes! 5 dogs, 3 birds, and 1 squirrel" (and most of those were in NC. Have GA hunter's really killed ALL the animals?). We made our way down the mountain and crossed over Old US 64. I know Amanda has already introduced you to trail magic. if you think it is a joke, guess what happened at Old US 64. An older couple asked us if we wanted to go back with them to their cabin! I am still astonished at people's generosity. Sadly, we had to tell them no because we had a lot of errands to run in Franklin and we didn't want to burden them.We hiked on another 3 miles to the new US 64 and hitchiked into town with another very generous man name Paul. Even after working in drywall all day, he was willing to drive a good bit out of his way to take us to the Microtel Inn and Suites in Franklin, NC. This hotel is great and I recommend it to all hikers. My dad was generous enough to do the research, make the reservation and even pay for the room. Thanks dad! Shoney's is about a 3 min walk away and it has a tasty lunch buffet (I am about to explode). I can see a Winn Dixie down the road and there is also a Wendy's and Arby's. As for the outfitter, I didn't really find it that helpful. It looks more like a surf shop with sleeping bags and thermarests than anything else. Well now I'm off to put all these journal entries online (the hotel has a computer with internet).--Josh