Date: 2010-02-16
To: A Psych-out or a promising sign?
Miles today: 0.0

Is this the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel? That glimmer of hope that all who head out on March 1st, the historic psychological first day of the hiking season, mean we won¢t be transformed into a cube of ice? Record rewriting snow levels, below normal, spring delaying temps have all been par for the course this winter, does this warming trend in Suches, Georgia and the surrounding area project that Old Man Winter is finally finished? (Oh bloody hell, it just started #*!#$ snowing ?!#*!SH T* here #%!*!*# !#!*<*#!?#!*#!...AGAIN.)For the last month, I¢ve had the weather forecast app on my iMac set to Georgia rather than my home area of southern New Jersey ¢ a source of constant fret well documented here and most likely shared by my fellow adventurers. Wrestling matches of the most nasty degree inside my cranium on how to tolerate (notice I didn¢t say conquer) the daily hiking temps with clothes that will get soaked with sweat without losing their effectiveness. Mental exercises become hard pen to paper lists of gear and What If scenarios, choices and combinations to cope (notice I didn¢t say master) what evil this way may come. And just when my George Patton planning side has it figured out, sort of, I discover a link for temperature ratings in the high ridges of the Smoky¢s. It seems the low temps of 13 or 17 in Suches, (elevation in the 3000 ft range) translate up at Newfound Gap (elevation in the 5000 ft range) in the middle of our passage of the Smoky¢s to low¢s of 2 and 7. Yikes.Finding that link triggered a whole new set of issues ¢ my 20 degree sleeping bag the foremost of those. Having considered this challenge once before, I believe I have a solution. During my first AT hike, my start date was a late May 1st; as a result, I carried my incredibly light Western Mountaineering 35 degree down bag (only 1 pound and the size of a grapefruit!) nearly the whole way. It has occurred to me that if I stuff that bag inside my 20 degree bag, the two together would be greater than the sum of the parts. In essence doubling the goose without doubling the weight. A wildcard in this dilemma is my Montbell bag cover which was in the consideration for adding maybe an extra 8 or so degrees of warmth ¢ if a silk liner can add warmth, a cover over the whole cocoon is bound to be even more so.These are serious strategic issues, fortunately are not permanent gear choices ¢ ones for the high elevations. Not dissimilar to entering The Whites of New Hampshire.The snow depth listed at Newfound Gap was at 13 feet, that¢s 13 feet of muscle tiring, snail slow trekking. And since we¢re becoming friends here, let me admit that passage of the Smoky¢s in not my favorite. Due to high traffic in America¢s most visited National Park, the Appalachian Trail would be more accurately described as the Appalachian Trench ¢ a dadgum, awkward foot deep at times. The trail becomes a river slog in the rain. But the snow, if covering the trail still when we arrive will at least solve that, I assume? (Can¢t help being a Half-full kind of guy.) I was planning on sending my high, waterproof gaiters in my maildrop just before to lessen (notice I didn¢t say eliminate) the snowy nuisance. Obviously this hike will be unlike the earlier ones ¢ always a good thing. And obviously these trail conditions will be monitored closely by us all, unfortunately not too many Sobo¢s at this time to give us the scoop up ahead.If any of you have knowledge to the effectiveness of my bag in bag strategy or more accurate warmth data concerning sleeping bag covers as well, don¢t hesitate to sign the guest book and confirm or deny. My ego isn¢t so big that I can¢t learn from some of you.Hopefully all these mental gymnastics will become moot if that warming trend settles in and starts the trees to bud (fingers crossed).