Date: 2004-02-26
From: Bald Mountain Shelter

To: Miss JanetÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs House
Miles today: 16.9

Log Entry 26Start Time- 0900End Time- 1600Morning Weather- Cold and snowy, very windy, bitterly cold with the wind, 16 deg air temp at 0900.Afternoon Weather- snow all afternoon. Big flakes, small flakes, and temps did not get about 20 until I dropped down below 2500 feet. Wind was moderate all day, very strong at times.Evening Weather- Lightly falling snow in Erwin all evening. No school for the kiddies, not very cold, just at freezing.Breakfast- coco-oats and CIBLunch- snickers crunch, 3 musketeers, peach ringsDinner-Elms Restaurant, Big old hamburger with saut©ed mushrooms, onions, and barbeque sauce. Oh yeah and a Cajun chicken fingers dinner with fries, salad, and a roll. The salad was top notch. I love Catalina dressing. And Dr. Pepper to drink.Trail description- It started off very rough. I could not tell where I was going. Mainly due to the heavily falling snow, the wind, and the lack of trail maintenance. But after about a quarter mile of stumbling I was pretty sure I was on the AT and I became ¢one with the wind¢ and was able to make steady progress. I took the climbs slow so as not to sweat, which would have been very dangerous. The trail was covered in about 3 inches most spots to drifts probably 8 inches. It seemed like it was a lot deeper but realistically I figure that¢s all it really was. Also there were a lot of spots where there was glare ice under the powder that made for some scary falls. 6- Hillbilly at Uncle Johnnys, Scott (the dude that picked me up), Miss Janet and her 2 daughters.7- just dogs8- $12 at Elms Restaurant9- windburn on my face (should not have sent the balaclava home), a little frustrated I could not always tell where I was goingNarrative: I was up late last night reading, so I slept straight through until 0730. I could hear the wind still howling. The first thing I did was loosen the cord on my mummy bag only to have my face filled with snow. I said to myself, ¢self, this may be a rough morning. I brushed it away and sat up to see a fresh powder of an inch of snow covering everything.   I knew right away that I was going to head to Miss Janets today and not No Business Knob. The plan was a short 10.6 mile day today and have a long afternoon at No Business Knob then head in Friday the short 6 miles into Erwin. I would save money and get to spend one more night outdoors. But I pretty much decided right there in my bag that I did not want to spend an afternoon confined to my mummy bag when I could have an evening on a couch in a controlled environment. The first task was to melt water for oats. I could eek enough water out of one of the nalgenes to boil there by melting the rest. As I ate my coco-oats and watched the storm rage, I thought of a catchy little jingle. Coco-oats are made by the same company that makes coco-wheats, so I used the same jingle:Coco-oats coco-oats can¢t be beatThey¢re the steamy hot cereal but I can¢t feel my feetTo grow big and strong, don¢t ask mom whyAs the day progresses I hope I don¢t dieIt was one of those situations where you had to make light of something or you would lose your head.It only took an hour and a half to get packed up, which surprised me because that¢s how long it takes me on days when I have hot breakfasts but don¢t have to deal with melting snow or deep cold temperatures.Before I headed out I filmed a short video, I think that will be fun to watch in the coming years. Since I sent my balaclava home in Hotsprings, I had to use a dry clean bandana that I tied outlaw style around my face. Then I pulled my Outdoor Research Peruvian hat (I call it a ¢bonnet¢ because I think that¢s what I look like when I wear it) down tight and only the thin area below my eyes was exposed. And I could feel that. My cheeks eventually went numb, which was good, one less thing to worry about. Also I said my usual morning prayer which starts out with me coming up with a virtue or character trait, then I ask God to fill me with thoughts about that. The rest I have standardized, here is what today¢s was:Dear Lord, thank You for another perfect day. Today as I hike, please give me patience. Patience to not try to hurry into Erwin and push past Your beautiful creation. Patience to plant each step and not make a costly mistake. Give me patience today Lord. (patience is a recurring attribute, usually reserved for the day I head into town).Also Lord, please make today¢s hike not so easy that I forget You; but not so hard that I forsake You. And teach me something today Lord.And that¢s all it is¢¦It was very slow going for a while and I did my best to pick out a route that looked most efficient and I am pretty sure was the AT. After about a hundred yards I said another short prayer. This one went out because I was frustrated with not being able to tell what way was which, it went like this near as I can remember, ¢Lord, today as I hike, hows about if I concentrate on the left-right-left-right walking part and if You could point my long, pointy, Reuschel nose in the right direction all day, I won¢t worry about the white blazes. I¢ll entrust that to you. And if you wanna help with the left-right-left-right, that¢ll be okay too. Thanks.¢ It worked. From that point on I never 2nd guessed myself and hiked on brother.The wind was fierce and I also wished I had my sunglasses but I sent those home too. Oh well. Life is about choices. After about a good half mile the trail dipped around a side of the mountain where the wind was not a factor. That was nice. The snow fell more straight down here, so it was still hard to see. The important thing was that I was warm. I fell hard a few times, the first time I stuck my left arm out to slow my impact. As I sat there in the snow I realized how very stupid that is, dislocated shoulders, broken/sprained wrists, and shattered collarbones are all just one mistake away. Nothing hurt on this fall but on the subsequent slips I was careful to keep all my appendages in tight and do my best to fall on my back. I made good time in the snow, it reminded me again of life back home in Michigan. The falling snow was beautiful. By 1330 I was at No Business Knob shelter where I ate my quick lunch and cameled some water. I read in the shelter register that a forest ranger said we were supposed to get up to a foot of snow last night, today, and overnight. So I decided that I did make the right choice about pushing ahead. I am glad I did the 2 high mile days to get me to Bald Mtn shelter, otherwise I would have had a long hike today and still not have been anywhere near Erwin. I said many prayers for the Solemates. I hope they made it quickly over the balds or took the bad weather routes. It was fierce when I was up there and I will try tomorrow, Friday, to make sure that they made it down safe. They should be at Uncle Johnnys I think by afternoon.The hike down to the Nolichucky River was pretty cool. You could see Erwin and the river for a long time. It seemed like I was going to be climbing a ladder down because the valleys were so steep looking but the switchbacks were friendly and I even used reversed pivots just like in basketball when I would get to a switchback. It really was a very efficient way to turn. You just can¢t do it too fast because your pack will send you off the mountain. I continued to be reminded to be patient, and that there would be plenty of warm, dry, shelter. Miss Janet wasn¢t going anywhere.As I stepped down onto the road, I pulled out Wingfoot¢s guide, oriented myself, and swung left towards Miss Janets. I tried to keep a low profile past Uncle Johnnys (competitor) but a cheery chap, named Hillbilly waved me in. We talked for a while and I let him know of my intentions to stay at Miss Janets. I then used the payphone to see if she could pick me up. Alas, she had some dental work done and was unable to drive. So I picked up my pack and started off the 3.8 miles hoping to catch a lift. After about a half mile, Scott, who is Miss Janets old neighbor offered me a lift. He had his son Peyton in the car with him and they were out watching the snow. He is a builder and had the day off. Also a big Tennessee Vols fan, I still can¢t figure where his 4 year-old son got his name from¢¦ Must be a relative.Scott dropped me off on her porch and I bid him farewell. Miss Janet was fast asleep due to painkillers and the likes. Her daughter showed me to the bunkroom where I emptied my pack, showered, and started laundry. Just after I dumped my wash in Miss Janet came down and we started watching Tombstone. What a great movie. The eldest Earp brother, Virgil is truly a man to respect. He has the right moral attitude needed for a lawman. After about an hour or so Miss Janet went back upstairs to bed and my laundry was done so I changed out of my raingear and headed to Elms restaurant. I feasted like a king there. The waitress gave me a funny look when I ordered 2 dinners, but then she noticed the Thru-hikers handbook I had sitting on the table and she didn¢t give it a second thought.After dinner I finished Tombstone and then watched First Knight. I still remember the 1st time I watched that movie I was a freshman in high school. That was where I got the great notion that I wanted to be ¢fearless¢ just like Lancelot. Turns out I learned a lot more from it the 2nd time, but more on that tomorrow, I need to get some rest.