Date: 2008-03-08
From: Icewater Springs Shelter

To: Tri-corner Knob Shelter
Miles today: 12.6
Weather: light snow

So you want to train for thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, and you want to stop early because you prefer cold to hot like Amanda and I? Okay, after the past two days I have developed an excellent training regiment that will whip you into shape in no time at all.Step 1: Purchase a StairMaster   Yes, we need to simulate climbing a mountain and while most mountains don't have steps this will have to suffice.Step 2: Set thermostat to 40 degrees   We need to get you ready for those cool days of hiking. Maybe you are thinking that 40 degrees isn't all that bad. Well, you are right. I think that 40 degree hiking is excellent, but just wait we aren't done.Step 3: Buy an industrial strength fan   Up here in the mountains there are very few days when the wind isn't whipping so this fan will come in handy. Now I'm not talking about a little 25 dollar fan from WalMart. No, I'm talking about one of those heavy duty fans you could also use as a mulcher grinding up sticks, limbs, and even that tree stump in your front yard.Step 4: Place fan in front of show, remove your shower curtain, turn your fan on medium, set shower water temp to cold and hop in   Yep, it's not just a 40 degree sunny day, it's a 40 degree windy rainy day. You can't put on rain gear if you want but you will soon find it to be quite useless.Step 5: But wait, how are you suppose to train for hiking when you are standing in the shower? This is where it gets a little tricky. You will need to place you stair master in your shower.Step 6: Climb for 10 hours.Ahhh yes, the rainy day is over so for tomorrow's training we should be able to take the StairMaster out of the shower and turn the fan off. Wrong.Since your thermostat probably won't go down to 10 degrees you will need to find a way to put your shower in your freezer. And don't forget the fan, you are going to want to bump that up to high. So now it is 10 degrees, the wind is ferocious, and the shower is spewing snow. Climb for 8 hours in this blizzard.Now you are prepared for what Amanda and I experienced the past few days. All rain yesterday and all snow today. The snow drifts were knee deep in places and we were completely exposed on the ridges. While we were very cold and tired, we knew that this was what some days were going to be like so we pushed on.We arrived at Tri-Corner Knob Shelter at around 4 PM. We found Donkeylegs (www.donkeylegs.com) bundled up in his sleeping bag asleep. We first met Donkeylegs in a shelter just past Mt. Albert the last time we had a dose of insanely frigid weather. We tried to start a fire but everything was obviously to wet. While we were eating more dry ramen Donkeylegs awoke from his slumber and we all conversed about everything from other thru-hikers to trail magic. As you know from reading our journal entries, Amanda and I have been very fortunate when it comes to trail magic. Donkeylegs however, has not been quite so lucky. He told us about how it was frustrating that his only 'trail magic' experience was finding a piece of rope which he used as a makeshift belt to hold his pants up. He then informed us that this led to painful rope burn. Amanda and I both hope that his trail magic luck will improve soon.-Josh