Date: 2016-03-03
From: Deep Gap

To: Winding Stair Gap
Miles today: 24.0
Weather: clear sky

This year we chose to start our hike in the winter. There were several different reasons for that I won't go into right now. But I've got to say, so far it's been gloriously beautiful. Pretty much.   I mean sunny and getting up into the 60 's. We did have a little rain on Tuesday. But yesterday felt more like winter. The wind was pushy and we had to hike in more layers to stay warm.It's amazing to me how much technology has affected the long distance hike. Yesterday I saw a guy on the top of a mountain using a cell phone. He was probably talking with the wife. This would have been unheard of in the past . You would have had to carry a satellite phone for emergencies. And then it would have cost you an arm and a leg to use it. We now have trail apps which have everything you want to know about your journey. Maps, way points, elevation, distance hiked, GPS of where you are at all times. You name it. Just give them a few years, it will be able to pick you up and carry you to your destination!! We also have a weather app on our phone specificly for the trail. It tells you the current weather and the forecast along points of the trail. It even adjusts for the elevation.And it's been fairly accurate.   So when it said it was going down to 15 degrees last night we took it seriously. We put on every bit of clothing we brought with us. Including our winter gear. But we froze anyway.. Ha! Just kidding. No, we actually stayed pretty toasty. And according to our app, the nicer weather is supposed to return. Yay!Well, so much for trusting the weatherman! My 'yay!' would soon turn into 'dashing through the snow'. The first part of the day was cold but tolerable. We saw some really cool crystalline frost formations on the ground. Some of them were super long and looked sort of like bear fur. I took a picture but wasn't sure it turned out that well. We came upon a second one that was super beautiful. It was fixed to a moss covered rock. I carefully removed a twig that was in front of it to get a better picture. There was a vine on the formation too. But just as I was saying 'I better not move that one it looks connected', Will reached down and pulled on it. The whole thing just collapsed! Oh well. But as I was walking down the trail stepping on the rocks underfoot, it occurred to me that some relationships are like the rocks I was stepping on, hard and tough, enduring through the years. And some relationships are like frost. They seem beautiful but they crumble at the merest touch.As we sat down to eat lunch, it started to snow! Hey! What happened to that sunny and mid 60's forecast? Ah well, when one is hiking a winter through hike a little snow should not be a surprise right? It actually turned out to be very beautiful. It clung to the trees turning them into a winter wonderland. The roots and logs were a bit dangerous though. But, it gave us a chance to try out our winter-rain-snow gear. And I'm happy to report it did very well. We planned to let the day unfold and see where it got us. Hoping to make it into Franklin. But as the snow started piling up, Will said that Franklin was now the destination. Long mileage day but we started early as usual and came out on the road by about 5:30pm. The 2nd car going our way picked us up. Hallelujah! Super nice guy who drove all the way to the Budget Inn and then stuck around to see if we could get a room or if we needed him to drive us somewhere else. Super nice as I said.So we're here, we're getting warm and pizza is definitely in our evening!   Catch you later!Road Runner