Date: 2010-02-06
From: Neels Gap

To: Low Gap Shelter
Miles today: 10.5
Weather: overcast clouds

A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water.                                        ~ Carl ReinerI was the first hiker up this morning. I tried to get ready quietly, but it took me quite a while to get everything packed up. I've gotten out of the routine of packing the pack, and add to that the quirks of the new pack, and I found myself packing and repacking. Just when I thought I had everything in I would find something was amiss. For example, I had the pack all buttoned up, pack cover on and I went to put on my boots... to realize that the blister block for my feet was carefully stowed in the first aid kit.Fahmah was already to go and decided to wait for me. I urged him to go ahead, but he didn't. Eventually I was ready, and we started off, up out of the gap - northward bound once again.It was gray and damp and very windy as we went up and up. It got colder as we gained elevation. I usually try to dress as lightly as I can while hiking, as I tend to overheat (read "sweat like a pig") going uphill. I pushed myself along to keep the speed up and to stay warm. Jim "Bulldog" passed me on the climb to Cowrock, then passed me going the other way when the descent proved too icy to be fun for him. It turned out that he knew a couple from Hiawassee that had contacted me. We chatted briefly then, as I was chilling down, I made my farewells and pushed on.Eventually Fahmah convinced me to put on my rain jacket and pants. It was much warmer on the downhills, which was welcome, but then the climbs became too hot. Ah, sweet spot! Where are you?The stretch from Neels Gap to Hogpen Gap wasn't too bad - some blowdowns and some icy spots, but nothing too ugly.But the long, slow climb after Hogpen....That was a very long 4.4 miles under those trail conditions. They got worse as we went on toward Low Gap Shelter, but then improved a good bit starting a mile or so from Low Gap.I couldn't find anything on the map that would have put a road on the mountain above us, but I thought maybe there had been a massive accident. The woods looked as though a number of ice trucks must have run off the mountain road at a curve and come hurtling down and across from above. Broken branches and trees were all over.The trail itself was about three feet wide and cut into the side of a fairly steep slope. That meant that on one side the ground rose up steeply, and fell off just as steeply on the other side. This wasn't any dangerous slope, just a struggle to get up or down if one strayed from the trail.Why would anyone stray from the trail, you ask? Well, if a large tree or a jumble of downed branches blocked the way, your only choices might be to try to climb over (or under) with a pack, or to slip-slide down off the trail, skirt the blowdown, then clamber back up to the trail (or fight your way uphill first, then slide back down, trying to keep your balance).Are you wondering why I thought it was ice trucks that had brought all this destruction to the forest? Some of the areas were covered calf-deep with chunks of ice like ice cubes on top of the few inches of snow already on the ground. With every step our feet sank into the piles of ice and shifted and slid - like walking on a shifting mass of dice. It was very tough going. But I found myself wondering if we could get a corresponding amount of lime juice and tequila, would we have a world's record margarita?We arrived at Low Gap Shelter and settled in, finishing just as it got dark. I was very cold, but soon warmed up in my sleeping bag. It was better than I had expected; my fuel canister ran out of fuel as I heated water to put in my Nalgene bottle for a hot water bottle for my sleeping bag. So I had a somewhat warm bottle instead. But I must say, the thermorest matress was much more comfortable than the closed cell pad. Now if I can just keep from puncturing it.Perhaps it was the mattress, perhaps it was the very long, hard slog of the day's hike, but I slept better than I had for a while.