Date: 2018-04-16
From: Shook Branch Recreation Area

To: Iron Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 15.9
Weather: light snow

Did someone say it was mid-April? Because it feels more like the middle of winter out here. After raining all night, the precipitation had changed to a wintry mix by morning. For most of the day we hiked in either snow or sleet. The weather deteriorated throughout the day, with temperatures falling well below freezing and the winds were pelting snow and ice against our head and bodies. The day started cozy enough inside the Big House where we enjoyed a breakfast hash and packed our gear in a controlled climate. Our shuttleologist arrived at the camp store at 9AM. Finn, Happy Feet, Spirit Man, and Spamtown Rick all piled in the van with us and we headed for The Shook Branch Recreation. Area. Finn, Happy Feet and Spirit Man headed south on the A.T. back to The Black Bear Resort. They were all planning to stay another night at the Big House. Heartburn and Mel took a zero to let the rest of the group catch up. Spamtown Rick was headed north with us. A rain-snow squall greeted us as soon as we exited the van. About 200 yards of the trail around Lake Watauga was under enough water to make it impassable, so we took a detour along the road and then followed a blue blaze reconnecting us to the AT. The trail continued to circumnavigate the lake from above, eventually crossing over the Wilbur Dam. After crossing the dam the trail continued along the road up a steep incline. After re-entering the forest, we met the Los Jalape±os Gang headed southbound, slack packing back to The Black Bear Resort. The happy group has been sticking together for a while now. As we continued the long climb to 4,000+ feet, the temperature fell, the wind blew harder, and the sleet and snow picked up in intensity. Reaching the Vandeventer Shelter a little before 2PM, we stopped to cook up some Knorr Red Beans & Rice with Summer Sausage for lunch. Suspecting that the conditions would be miserable at our final destination, we decided to save our PBJ wraps for dinner, rather than trying to cook in the cold, wind and snow. While we prepared our meal, we had a nice chat with a thru hiker named Dynasty. He had started his hike on 24 Feb, the same day as us. Dynasty was in the small snowy shelter to stay for the night. We would hike another 6.5 miles through the driving sleet to Iron Mountain Shelter. When we arrived at our destination, I saw several tents already set up next to the shelter. There were several hikers gathered around a small fire and the heavy smoke was blowing directly into the shelter. Seeing an adequate tent spot about 20 meters before the shelter, we stopped and scratched out a place in the snow to set up. It was snowing harder and the wind chill made it nearly unbearable, so we worked as quickly as possible to set up the tent and get everything that would freeze overnight inside, including us. After warming up in our bags a little, we ate our pre-made, and now frozen, PBJ wraps. Better weather is expected tomorrow. We¢ll definitely be looking forward to that! Peace and Blessings - Next StepElevation Data:                  Weather:Ascent ~ 4,350                    Day ¢ 33 degrees / Sleet and SnowDescent ~ 2,330                  Night ¢ 25 degrees / Snow ShowersGrade ~ 8.0   Over the Horizon: Damascus