Date: 2018-11-16
From: Crazy Larry's Hostel, Damascus, VA

To: Old McQueen's Knob Shelter, TN
Miles today: 11.6

Before I went to bed last night I peered out my bedroom window. It was still raining. When I got up this morning and went to the kitchen Hash said "Good morning" and "It's white outside". About half an inch of snow covered everything. Around 8:30 Hash and I went to the post office. I had a box to mail to Heartrock and he had two boxes to forward to Hampton. On the way back we got egg sausage and cheese biscuit sandwiches at Cowboy's. After eating we headed back to Crazy Larry's. Crazy Larry was on the phone talking to Jeff at Mount Rogers Outfitter. He was asking if he had any Yak Tracks for me. They slide under shoes to help on snow and ice. It was kind of him to call for me. I packed up and thanked Crazy Larry. He is an interesting fellow with lots of good stories. I felt sad to leave. I said good bye to Hash and headed out. It was 10 a.m. At Mount Rogers Outfitters Jeff had the Yaks for me. He's a talker. He referred to himself as Jeffro. I thanked him and headed out. A wind advisory was in effect until I think noon. It was breezy but nothing terrible. I probably looked foolish to some people because I was wearing my shorts and jacket. It was to warm up eventually and I had high hopes the snow was going to melt soon. I missed a turn and continued on a dead end road. Snow stuck to the poles covering the blazes. I realized my mistake and headed back. A man came out of one of the houses and told me to go to the stop sign and turn left. I thanked him and followed his instructions. The trail immediately climbed the mountain on gentle switchbacks. A set of tracks were already on the trail and I could tell by the tread they were Merrells. A day hiker came down the trail. Then I saw a guy hunting with a muzzle loader. Then an unfriendly guy with a pack came by with a backpack and a plastic cage with a dead looking bird inside. That was weird. After 11 a.m. the sun came out and the snow began to melt. I was very optimistic. At 12:33 I crossed the border into Tennessee. I made it through Virginia without getting the Virginia blues. The trail continued to climb steadily. Up higher there was slightly more snow and it wasn't melting. The trees were covered in ice. Up on the ridge the wind was causing the trees to sway sending ice shrapnel all over. A piece of ice hit my upper arm and it felt as if someone punched me. The Merrells tracks kept going. I assumed it must be a hiker. At 4:15 I came to Abingdon Gap Shelter. The tracks stopped there. Inside was Steady. We met at a shelter a month ago in the dark. I spoke to her and her hiking friend back then but only saw a headlamp. I didn't stay there that night. Now I got to meet her in the daylight. Her hiking friend went home and will finish next year. I went the .2 down the hill for water and back. I debated whether to stay or not at the shelter but decided to continue. I wished Steady well and continued in the snow. Mine now are the only tracks. At 5:15 I came to one of the original shelters. It was the tiny McQueen's Knob Shelter. It is only to be used in an emergency. I had no plans of attempting to stay there but instead set up my tent nearby. I couldn't remember if you are to remove the snow or camp on top of the snow. I decided to sweep away the snow with my cold wet shoes. Just before I got into my tent I saw the moon to my east shining through a pink cloud. The whole sky was white and pink from the sunset. To the west I could see plenty of lights perhaps from Abingdon or Bristol. At the moment I can hear the cracking of ice on the trees as well as falling ice. An interesting sound of nature in the cold woods at night.