Date: 2013-05-05
From: Lost Mountain Shelter area

To: VA 600 road crossing - bailed due to weather!
Miles today: 7.9

Good evening dear readers,It's May, right?! Cinco de Mayo, AT-style today, which means crazy weather, flirting with hypothermia, and then an interesting privy experience. What a day, what a day. Today began innocently enough. I was up early since I'd gone to bed before dark, it seemed, so I was packed up and ready to go well before 8am. Not much rain last night, but wow was the wind fierce and howling. I was happy not to pack up a sopping wet tent, only damp! Especially since I'm still fiddling with my new old pack. Off I went, and started the long 2000 foot climb up to Whitetop Mountain about 6 miles away. I had heard the rain was really going to get heavy in the late afternoon, so was hoping to be up and over both Whitetop and Mt Rogers, both 5000 footers, by then. I was aiming to get to Wise Shelter at mile 500, but that just wasn't meant to be, today at least. The wind turned very cold on the ridges climbing up, so I stopped to put on my rain jacket - for the first time in weeks, for the cold and as a windbreaker, rather than for rain. Misting and "spitting" started soon thereafter, and then -- the bald at Buzzard Rock appeared. I have never been in such high sustained winds before in my life. I paused before leaving the cover of the trees, and saw the rain and mist/cloud cover being forcefully drive sideways. I remember thinking to myself "what on earth am I doing?? And hiking this alone??!" Even though first long looks didn't prepare me for the ferocity of crossing that bald. My rain jacket hood, even though cinched down, was catching the wind and flapping so hard I thought it would get shredded. The exposed area was less than a mile, but just - wow. The wind literally kept pushing me off the trail, and I had to dig my trekking poles in to stagger back to the trail. Thank heavens I have as much bulk as I do - the skinny folks had to go down to their knees or take cover behind holders at points to avoid being blown over. All the while being pelted with very cold rain/sleet at over 5000 feet. Once I got back to the tree cover I breathed a sign of relief, but then kept hurrying down the mountain as I was nervous about hypothermia - I was now both cold and wet. Upon reaching the next road crossing I saw a privy building by the trailhead parking area and hoped desperately that it was open. I met Joel, a section hiker who had bailed from the top of Mt Rogers from the icy/snowy conditions up there, and into the privy building we went - ahh, instant relief from the crazy wild wind and blowing rain. It wasn't long before other hikers showed up, and the look on Sparky's face when he opened the privy door expecting it to be empty was just priceless! He and his daughter Orange Peel, and Blackhawk Bob joined us in our makeshift shelter, and we had to laugh at the absurd circumstances we found ourselves in. They had thought already about bailing, thinking it wasn't necessarily safe to climb Mt Rogers in these conditions. They had called "Bubba" in one of the guide books, for a shuttle into Marion. I promptly asked if I could tag along, so Sparky and I went out to the road in the attempt to get a better cell signal to call him again. I got through, and he said sure, but it'd be another hour. I felt like a total dork, but asked him to beep when he got there, since we were taking refuge in the bathroom to get out of the wind and rain.   The things you find yourself saying out here! The thermometer on the trailhead bulletin board read 37 degrees, and that was without the wind chill factors in. Blackhawk, suitably enough a pilot, said he estimated the winds on the bald to have been between 50-60mph. I didn't really need to know that! Unfortunately Bubba was a no show, we couldn't believe it. Cell coverage was non-existent to spotty at best, but walking a ways Blackhawk was able to get through to the shuttle service at Mt Rogers Outfitters in Damascus. They told us to hold tight and someone would be out there in an hour. Several more joined us in our privy-shelter: Quaker, Willow, Rainbow Bright, and Cleveland, guess where from?! I got creative and got my stove fired up, doing a musical chairs routine to keep my pack and everything off the nasty ground in the privy, Sparky brought in a rock to set my pot on. I boiled up some water for tea and coffee, and what was almost better was the heat from the stove and passing around the hot mugs to warm up cold hands. We had 9 people and a few packs in that small space, but it's a great story now! The shuttle arrived, and we were all so happy to throw our packs in the back and jam in that van! The heat felt wonderful and we finally stopped shaking. All in all, those of us there the longest stood for over 3 hours in that privy, but I've never been so thankful to see one in my life. A ride to Abington VA since little Damascus was all booked in the crummy weather, and a great dinner with Quaker at Cracker Barrel later, and we were warm, fed, and falling asleep. What a day, what a day. From thinking "How am I going to handle this by myself?!" to being with 7 other instant friends sharing a memory that will stand out on our trip - the 3rd time I bailed off the trail due to adverse weather, akaLife threatening conditions!