Date: 2009-01-20
From: Wayah Shelter

To: Burningtown Gap (NC Route 1397)
Miles today: 3.6

We were cold last night. Even though we put on extra dry clothes to bed, we were cold. When it got light enough to stir at about 0730, we found out why. The temperature had dipped close to zero degrees. This is the coldest hiking temperature we have ever dealt with. The snow had stopped with perhaps five inches on the ground and it was still overcast. We had difficulty getting packed because of the cold. We skipped our usual breakfast of cold cereal to save time, and also because the powdered milk mix would probably have frozen before we finished eating. So breakfast was some pieces of candy. Even without breakfast it was shortly before 0900 when we finally finished packing and got underway north. We used a third set of hand warmers to keep some feeling in our fingers as we started out on a snowy trail. We were going to get off the trail today, and not just for a day or two. We are having a hard time dealing with this extreme cold. The thought of loosing the dexterity of our hands is a frightening thought. We were able to reach Double Healer (DH), at home, in Franklin. He agreed to pick us up at the intersection of Route 1397 and Wayah Road (NC Route 1310). We made good time enroute to Burningtown Gap, as it was mostly downhill. Despite the cold the forest was beautiful with its snow cover. We even had some flashes of sun. We saw a variety of animal footprints in the snow. We reached the road at Burningtown Gap at about 1100. Not bad time for difficult conditions. Route 1397 up to Burningtown Gap had not been plowed which is not surprising. It was easy, but cold, walking down the road to the west toward Wayah Road. After about 45 minutes we came to a cluster of homes along the road, and an intersection. We were not quite sure where we were due to the lack of detail in our trail map. We knocked at one of the houses and a young man reluctantly came to the door. He told us Wayah Road was about a mile ahead. We continued in the cold, perhaps 10 degrees, to Wayah Road. We reached Wayah Road at about 1215, after walking about four miles on Route 1397. However, DH was not at the intersection, which was quite discouraging. Perhaps our directions had gotten misconstrued? There was no sense in waiting in the cold wind at the intersection, so we started walking south on Wayah Road. Perhaps we could get lucky and hitch a ride or find a place to get out of the cold. Unfortunately there was no traffic on Wayah Road. However, after only about five minutes of walking on Wayah Road, we saw DH coming towards us. It was wonderful to get in the warm car and out of the cold. During the drive back to Franklin it was interesting to note that there was no snow as we got lower in elevation. It even got a few degrees warmer. As we walked down the Burningtown Gap Road (Route 1397) we contemplated our future. I, Swamp Fox, was of a mind to call it quits and go home to NH. That can't be colder than this, can it? Rocky, ever the optimist, wanted to get off the trail awhile and resume our hike at later and warmer date. We simply are not handling the cold weather very well. If its this cold and snowy here, what will it be like in the 6000 foot Great Smoky mountains.   So as we lay in our warm beds at the home of DH and Susan in Franklin, we more or less decided to get off the trail until mid March. In a day or so we will go back to Helen GA and spend some time with Kim Smith and his wife Janice. Kim is one of those "Best Friends For Life That We Just Met Yesterday", that we have been fortunate enough to meet during our four years of AT hiking. If you go back to our January 7th Journal, it was Kim drove us back to the Trail from our stay in Helen GA. From Helen we will make our way to Orlando FL to spend some time with Rocky's daughter. Then at some point, we will get back to Franklin to resume where we left off at Burningtown Gap.         Another Gear Note:Our Blackberry has been virtually a life saver on three occassions now. Three times we have been able to contact DH to come fetch us off the trail in difficult conditions. It has also enabled us to keep our Journal up to date and stay in touch with our friends. We appreciate the interest and good wishes that so many have shared with us.Swamp Fox