Wednesday march 6, 2013
Driving through the mountains of north Georgia this morning, we noticed the snow on the mountains "oh look how pretty.."
We arrived at woody gap (which is near suches, georgia.) at noonish only to find the winds whipping the snow around at about 40mph... Thus began our first day of hiking the AT...we had 11.6 miles to get to our destination of Neels gap..(to follow our excel spreadsheet that has our hike mapped out with the assumption that we can average 12 Miles per day....)
The first four days we are doing what's called slack packing...not needing multiple days worth of food really cuts down the weight of a backpack...
So as we stood shivering in the freezing wind and snow earlier today, deciding what we each wanted to include in our pack, all i could think about was warmth, carbs and shelter. So i took my tent and sleeping bag (in case we had to stop for some medical emergency), hat, fleece gloves and waterproof mitten covers, balaclava, Kermit green marmot ether driclime hooded jacket, rainpants (added protection from wind)...this is what i had on in addition to my usual hiking pants and shirt...yes, i had on my Turkey bags..
.the just in case stuff : down mittens, Patagonia micropuff jacket (the low profile blaze orange one) rain jacket...
For food i had some homemade salmon jerkey , gorp, and fruit "leather"
We walked all 12 miles (ish)..snow, ice covered rocks, wind...really beautiful except for the wind...I've never been so happy to see a rank old stone structure from the ccc...built in the 30s...i knew we only had 1.5 miles left until our destination..all downhill, over icy rocky terrain..to our sweet companions awaiting with beer and fried pies...yummy..ended the day with beer and pizza in Helen ga...hot shower and bed here i come
I worry for your cold hands!
ReplyDeleteMay the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be ever at your back.
And may the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you ever
in the palm of his hand.
May God be with you and bless you:
May you see your children's children.
May you be poor in misfortune,
Rich in blessings.
May you know nothing but happiness
From this day forward.
May the road rise up to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the warm rays of sun fall upon your home
And may the hand of a friend always be near.
May green be the grass you walk on,
May blue be the skies above you,
May pure be the joys that surround you,
May true be the hearts that love
ID please! How do we know that is really you under all that gear.
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