Date: 2015-02-16
From: Gooch Mountain

To: Blood Mountain (Tent)
Miles today: 14.2
Weather: snow

Day 2 ¢ Monday, Feb. 16, 2015I knew I shouldn¢t have done it when I did it. I knew better. But I did it anyway. And before you could say, ¢What were you thinking?¢ I was in trouble up to my eyeballs. Reminded me of an old adage I picked up from one of my nephews, Chuck Stith. ¢If you¢re gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough.¢Today was grey and overcast, with a lot of wind. And by mid-morning, as Cary had warned me yesterday, it had begun to sleet. Off and on, for the rest of the day, and into the night, it rained and sleeted.I had planned to hike to Neels Gap (mile 31.7), to a hostel there called Mountain Crossings. But Blood Mountain, which I had to cross at the end of the day (mile 29.3), and at 4,461 feet, the highest point on the AT in Georgia), was giving me pause. Blood Mountain is steep, and it would be icy. So I decided to spend the night at Woods Hole Shelter (mile 28.2), 3.5 miles short of my goal. Better safe than sorry.But when I got to Woods Hole at 4 p.m., I didn¢t stay. I felt good. The weather wasn¢t bothering me so I moved on, right on up Blood Mountain. There was a shelter on top; I¢d stay there.But the Blood Mountain shelter, which is made of stone, was dark and cold inside. At the bottom of the mountain, only 2.4 miles away, was warm food and a hot shower. It was already 6 p.m., almost dark, but I decided to keep going. It was a decision I would soon regret.The northbound descent from Blood Mountain peak is like nothing I¢ve seen elsewhere in the almost 500 miles I¢ve hiked the AT on other trips. There¢s a series of long (75-100 feet), flat rocks strung together by short pieces of trail. And on this night, the rocks were covered with a quarter inch of ice.In the end, all I could do was sit down and slide. Twice, I careened out of control, bouncing off whatever got in the way. White blazes marking the trail are painted on the rocks and, where I could see them, I followed them. On the second, wild slide the white blazes may have been covered with ice or, maybe, sliding by at 15 mph, I just didn't see them.When I finally came to a stop at the bottom of the last sheet of rock, I could not find the trail and, believe me, I searched for it diligently in the falling light.There was no going back -- I couldn't climb those icy rocks. I had no choice but to bushwhack my way down the mountain until I found the AT or civilization. I put my small cap light in my mouth to light the way, to free my hands so I could use my poles, and started down the mountain, through the woods.It was 7 o¢clock, dark, wet, cold, and getting colder ¢ when I began to think I might be in trouble.Finally, I found what I thought was the AT. I turned to my left and hiked down for half an hour or more, until in my dim light I saw a blue blaze. The AT is marked with white blazes. I had found the Freeman Trail, which intersected the AT on the north slope of Blood Mountain. But which direction would lead to that intersection?I just couldn¢t believe the AT was this far down. It had to be back the other way, so I turned around and began retracing my steps.When I had not found the AT by 8:30 p.m. I decided to call it a day. I had been hiking for 12 hours on the two pop tarts I eaten for breakfast. I had skipped lunch and supper. I had to find a spot on the narrow trail wide enough to pitch my tent while I still could. And I did, a four-by-eight-foot sheet of ice.At the very moment I dropped my pack my flashlight battery died.It¢s hard to appreciate total darkness because we so rarely experience it. There¢s always a little light somewhere, if it¢s only from the face of a digital clock. When my little cap light winked out on Blood Mountain, it was like standing in a closet with the door shut, wearing a blindfold.I dug in my pocket for a cigarette lighter, but the flint was wet. It wouldn¢t light. I had a spare lighter in my pack, if I could just find it in the dark and coax my frozen fingers to make fire.I did find it, finally, and I did make fire, in spite of the wind -- that¢s why I¢m still here.With the light from the lighter, I found a fresh flashlight battery. And with light from the cap light, I set up my tent. In a few minutes, I was safe and warm inside my sleeping bag. Outside my little home it was still sleeting, but I slept soundly.Did I pray any that night on the side of Blood Mountain? Oh yes ¢- without ceasing.