Date: 2018-11-12
From: Tanyard Gap

To: Hurricane Gap
Miles today: 5.5

It rained all night and was raining when we woke up. We'd decided last night that we'd get some waterproof gloves or rain mitts at the outfitter when they opened at 9 and head to the trail after since we were only hiking 8.4 miles. I would have preferred rain mitts to wear over my convertible fleece mittens but they didn't have any so I settled on a lightweight pair of waterproof gloves. I also picked up a lighter and fuel can since I couldn't bring any on the plane. We bundled up and headed down the trail when Lee (Leanne prefers Lee) dropped us off. The temp was 36° when we exited the car at 10am. The hike was an immediate climb, the rain steady and the trail soggy and slippery. Mud slid under wet leaves as I stepped on them leaving me on guard as I hiked. So far my rain jacket and rain kilt were keeping me dry. We steadily climbed for the first hour gaining quite a bit of elevation and reached a ridge. At this point the wind joined the rain coming sharply from the left and the temperature had dropped. The rain became stinging sleet and my kilt kept blowing open allowing my skirt to get wet. I stopped and took off my "not so waterproof gloves", adjusted the kilt opening to my right side and twisted the hood of my rain jacket so it covered most of the left side of my face. At this point I put my soaked gloves back on and realized I was very cold. There was a shelter a mile or so ahead and I hoped it was right on the trail and not down a blue blaze. My wish came true and I saw the shelter with a tarp enclosing the front and a few pairs of trekking poles leaning alongside so I knew it was inhabited. I stepped inside behind the tarp and found WE who was adding some dry layers and assessing her level of comfort and dryness. Also, huddled into their sleeping bags were 3 young men also thru hikers. They were too cold to continue and were warming up and debating whether to stay or make the 11 miles into town and the Laughing Heart Hostel. They called WE and I "badass" for being out there. But we were wet and cold and doing our own assessment. I threw an additional layer on under my rain jacket which was wet inside as well as out and my fleece mittens on top of the soaked "not so waterproof" gloves to try to get my fingers warm. We had 5+ miles left. The boys decided to get dressed and make a run for it. They're young and can keep a 3mph pace. I said goodbye and headed out after WE, catching up with her a few tenths of a mile ahead. We spoke briefly about getting picked up in 2 miles at Hurricane Gap instead of the agreed spot. She sent a text message out to Lee and I hiked ahead to keep moving and warm up. I arrived at the Gap and WE right behind me but she hadn't heard from Lee. A quick look at her phone revealed that she'd mistakenly texted Insect! After a bit of a debacle she finally reached Lee who was 30 minutes away and headed for us. We took shelter from the wind behind a small knoll and it was a life saver just to be spared from that. I turned around to see WE with nothing on top and I thought about the stages of hypothermia. Thankfully she was just taking off wet layers and putting on dry....all the while standing in swale filled with water at the base of the knoll and not realizing it. After all our feet were already soaked. We moved in place and half-heartedly sang warm weather songs like the "Pina colada song" and discussed options if Lee couldn't find us. The boys from the shelter went flying by and 40 minutes later Lee arrived. It was scary indeed and hypothermia is a really serious consideration in these conditions. As we warmed up on the ride home we agreed to some things for future safely. If we can't stay dry we can't stay alive in cold temps. We will carry a stove and bottles so we can heat water if needed. We will not hike in rain with such temps and wind combined again. At the camper we showered and warmed. Then we went to the outfitter and WE bought better rain gear before stopping at the hostel to do laundry. We visited with Insect and laughed about her reaction when she received the emergency text messages WE sent her in error. We also saw the 3 boys had made it safely and were getting warm and dry also. Insect made her dinner and shared some Pillsbury cinnamon rolls with us before we left with our clean dry clothes. It was quite a day. The GPS didn't send Lee to the right spot for us, but she had observed a road the day before when she dropped me off for my hike and took a chance that it would bring her to us and she was right. After burgers back at the camper I was exhausted! Tomorrow we'll hike the 3.4 we didn't finish today and then we'll move the camper up to Elizabethton TN where we will slack pack out of for the next week or so.