Saturday 4/2/05
Start - Woody Gap
Stop - Neels Gap
Miles traveled 10.6 miles
Since I'm writing this I must have made several good decisions after making a bad one.
The day started with a great breakfast. I had those big Belgian Waffles, scrambled eggs, and grits. Actually, I wasn't impressed by the grits. Oh, I forgot the orange juice and coffee.
Staying a the hiker hostel, yes it is one word was a wise decision as major storms with extremely high winds roared through the night
The one mistake I made today was leaving the hostel. You will have to look up the wind chill factor that combines a 30 degree temperature with a 50 mph wind.. I can only tell you how it feels, very very, cold.. Colder than I was prepared for. By the time it took me to reconsider the hostel van had already left. It quickly became a survival situation. I realized that I had to start walking as standing in one spot meant freezing. As I hiked,, I passed the remains of destroyed campsites. I can only imagine what happened to the owners of the shredded tents, tarps, and wind scattered clothes.
I had intended to hike only 6. something miles to the Woods Hole shelter and I got there without taking a break. It took me about 4 hours to cover those miles and got there shortly after noon.. A speed record for me. I quickly put on everything I had and made a cup of hot tea and then crawled into my sleeping bag to evaluate the situation. The wind just swirled and I couldn't find a corner to get out of it. Eventually I warmed and was able to start thinking more clearly. I realized that I couldn't stay there. While I was marginally warm I knew I could not handle an overnight temperature drop. I checked my book and determined that my best bet was to reach the hostel at Neels Gap about 4 miles away.. The only obstacle was Blood Mountain, the highest point on the AT in Georgia.I packed up and headed out by 3:00. By 5:00, I was in the Walisi-y
Posted by at April 2, 2005 06:08 PM