Date: 2017-03-16
From: Deep Gap

To: Long Branch Shelter, NC
Miles today: 17.2

Day 09: Deep Gap, NC to Long Branch Shelter, NC - 17.2 miles:A miserable night last night. Doubling up in a tent did nothing in battling the cold. Toepick was able to sleep through most of the night, as was evident by her snoring, and so did Odin in my tent next door. I, on the other hand, tossed and turned between every position possible in a mummy sleeping bag, but was unable to find warmth. Around 4am I noticed my toes were numb, but there was nothing I could do about it except wait til movement in the morning. The morning was ridiculously cold, having to climb out of what little warmth my sleeping bag provided, and out into the cold to begin packing up gear. Even Odin was reduced to a curled-up ball on Toepick's sleeping pad as we packed our gear. We watched as the sunlight ever so slowly worked its way down the mountain behind us, but it never quite reached us in the deep gap we had camped in just below the 5,000+ foot Standing Indian Mountain to our east. Wearing everything I had, plus two pairs of socks on my hands, we set off to begin our ascent up Standing Indian Mountain.Fortunately it was well-graded and the climb went smoothly until we reached the summit, offering a scenic view back towards the south, part of Hiawasee just visible beyond a far mountain. After snapping a few pictures, we continued on since the frigid air bit through our layers, despite another perfectly clear day. The day consisted of a steady rotation between walking over the ice-hardened shoe prints of other hikers, pushing our way through areas of snow drift, skating over frozen sections of trail where water normally crossed, and slipping our way along muddy sections. Depending what side of each mountain we found ourselves on, the trail condition could change in moments.We took our first break and had lunch at Carter Gap Shelter. Positioned in an area with little wind, it was refreshing to finally feel the warmth of the sun for the first time in the past few days. I took a quick trip to the privy, taking pride in the fact that I didn't cause the ever-growing pile of excrement, gradually growing upwards towards the toilet seat, to topple over. I instead landed my addition carefully on top, topping it off with a little piece of toilet paper - a flag, if you will. With it already being 1:30pm, we weren't able to break long and soon returned to the trail, determined to give ourselves the option of reaching Long Branch Shelter, still ~10 miles away. After leaving Carter Gap, the trail meandered through several miles of mountainsides burnt from last year's fires, the blackened remains of trees standing out in stark contrast against the white snow. The twisting, outreached remains of rhododendron branches remained, but were void of their green leaves. Around another couple bends in the trail, these same rhododendrons, untouched by fire, grew with the grade of the mountains, standing at 45-degree angles to the trail, reaching over and forming tunnels that we passed under. The never-ending battle of finding their own little spot in the sun.Aside from the trail conditions determined on slowing our progress, we were able to still make good time, arriving at Betty Creek Campsite in what seemed no time at all. Wild Thing was posted up for the evening and, after briefly chatting with him, continued on. We only had ~5 miles to cover, but three of those miles consisted of a climb up and over Mt. Albert, before a gradual decline would lead us to our goal for the day. The climb up Mt. Albert was steady, the trail gradually winding its way up and around towards the summit. With the mountain rising a few hundred vertical feet just to our left, and dropping off just as much to our right, we had to take our time crossing ice-covered patches along the way. As we climbed higher and the trail became steeper, we broke off pieces of foot-long icicles and sucked on them for water, too stubborn to stop and drink from the half-frozen bottles in our packs.After a final steep push over the final quarter mile, we finally reached the fire tower that not only marked the summit of Mt. Albert, but also the 100-mile mark of the AT. Being only 4:30pm, we knew we had plenty of time to cover the remaining ~2.5 miles so we let ourselves enjoy a break, enjoying the beautiful 360-degree view from atop the tower, before the cold finally set in and forced us to get moving. Just over a mile later we encountered our first SoBo hikers, Rabbit, Happy Pants, and Duchess, nearing the 100 miles remaining point of their journey, which had started in August of 2016. Having already experienced what they're closing in on, I'm sure they're feeling the bitter sweetness of it all. We congratulated and wished them well before we finished our last leg into camp.This shelter is nestled on a ridge just off the trail, which unfortunately means another frigid morning tomorrow seeing as though we'll be on the west side of the mountain. Seven hikers are calling this shelter home for the night - four downstairs, and three on an upstairs loft. After chatting and joking together during dinner, we all quickly got into our sleeping bags as the last light of the day began to fade, bringing with it the coldness of the night. Toepick and I are lying in an L-shape in one of the bottom corners, Odin sleeping snugly in the space between us and the corner of the shelter. Although it'll be another cold night, we have the assurance this time of our gear remaining dry and not freezing.Tonight will drop into the low-20's, but should rebound to be another decent day tomorrow as the weather gradually improves. The goal is to do ~10 miles into Franklin, NC and stay in a cheap motel for the night since the forecast calls for rain. I'm looking forwards to taking a warm shower and thawing from the inside out in what has been a difficult stretch of cold weather. The Smokies loom in ~50 miles so this will also be the last real opportunity to enter a town until after completing that section.Off to sleep for now. Hoping Odin will let me cuddle with him if the night gets too cold again. In nine days since beginning, I've experienced warm 60-degree days, a wild thunderstorm atop Blood Mountain, trekking through foot-deep snowdrifts, and temperatures in the single digits. It's safe to assume a fair amount of hikers that started around the same time may have seen their hikes come to an early end. I wouldn't change it for anything, though, save maybe the cold. Ya, most definitely the cold.