Well okayWalnut Mtn Rd Iron Mountain Gap
Sequel to last year's section: Stecoah Gap Newfound Gap https://texags.com/forums/34/topics/2859533/replies/49196305
We've been planning this trip for a little while, and watching the weather pretty closelyespecially with Hurricane Michael likely tracking over the areas we would be hiking. Consistently, the forecasts were intermittent rain (particularly on Thursday) with temps H mid-70s and L hi-50s. I would soon be reminded that forecasts don't apply to mountains.
Day 1: 6 miles
Flew to Charlotte and set off for Uncle Johnny's Hostel in Erwin, TN. From there, we were shuttled to Walnut Mountain Road and dropped off on the AT at 5:45pm. To stay on schedule, we needed to get about 6 miles in on the first night which meant a couple of hours hiking with headlamps. We did manage to see a couple of nice sights before nightfall.
Day 2: 7 miles
The rain started around 3am and continued until approx. 3pm that afternoon. Waking up in the rain and packing up a wet tent would soon become an all-too-familiar start to the morning (and quite frankly something that I would learn to hate). This was supposed to be a 13.5 mile day over Hump Mtn ending at Overmountain Shelter, but a few hours into the hike, my partner started bottoming out. He later confessed that he hadn't been eating or drinking much, but by the time the symptoms set in, he couldn't recover. We ended up stopping at Dolls Flat for the night.
Interestingly enough, I had decent cell signal and decided to check the weather while tying to dry out my gear for the night. That's when I saw the updated forecast: Tonight's Low: 38F with rain and strong winds from the northwest. Wellshoot. Going back to the planning, I didn't bring any cold weather gear, everything was wet (despite dry bags, pack covers, etc), and I was using my summer sleeping bag (oops).
As the daylight began to fade, the sun poked through the clouds for a brief moment, almost teasing us before the front hit. And it hit hard.
Day 3: 13.5 miles
I spent the night waking up with shakes every hour or so. The wind was relentless, and despite taking all available measures to stay warm, there was just no escaping the cold. The morning couldn't come soon enough.
Once it did, light revealed that we were still basically stuck in the clouds. No sunlight to warm us up or dry the gear; just a blanket of moisture and intermittent rain mixed in with the cold wind. When I did see signs of the sun for the first time, I'll admit, the sight was almost worth the wait.
The next challenge was going to be getting up and over Hump Mountain, Little Hump Mountain and down to Overmountain Shelter. The sun was out, but the air was still cold and the wind on these balds was impeded by nothing but us.
Unfortunately in the process of getting over the mountain, I messed up my ankle pretty bad sliding in a rut next to the trail. I knew when I heard the pops that it would possibly jeopardize us reaching our targeted destination, but I was pretty determined not to make a big deal about it. After another couple of miles, we were able to get off the exposed faces and assess/treat the damage.
Ace wrap, ibuprofen, 7 miles, and 1500 ft up to Roan High Knob Shelter. When the adrenaline of the injury wore off, each step became a reminder of what the reality of the remaining hike would be. Uncomfortable (though at times, beautiful)
Day 4: 8 miles
Another night waking up shaking in the cold. Once again, the camping area was blanketed in clouds with strong windsnot surprising given this is the highest shelter on the AT. At this point, it was just becoming a grind. Everything was wet and cold, even responding to nature's call was a challenge given the weather conditions.
We reformulated a plan that morning to spend the night at Clyde Smith Shelter. This would allow us to pace ourselves better and give us some time to actually relax and enjoy some downtime pending weather improvementwhich luckily it did. We also had cell reception and made a call to the shuttle service to change the extraction arrangements. The few hours around a campfire with blue skies was probably the highlight from a pure enjoyment standpoint.
Day 5: 6 miles
Big surpriseit started raining again overnight and continued through the morning. It wasn't nearly as cold, but still enough to make my 55F sleeping bag uncomfortable. Hiking out into the rain didn't really make a difference knowing it was the last day. Hurt ankle and all, we still averaged about 2.5 mph from CSH to Iron Mountain Gap.
Overall, the weather definitely wasn't favorable. With different conditions, we may have been able to move a little faster and possibly reach our initial goal. But part of the adventure is adapting to the situations, responding to challenges, and making everything a learning experiencewhich we ultimately did. We still managed to put in 42 miles on the trail--25 of which was limping.
Sequel to last year's section: Stecoah Gap Newfound Gap https://texags.com/forums/34/topics/2859533/replies/49196305
We've been planning this trip for a little while, and watching the weather pretty closelyespecially with Hurricane Michael likely tracking over the areas we would be hiking. Consistently, the forecasts were intermittent rain (particularly on Thursday) with temps H mid-70s and L hi-50s. I would soon be reminded that forecasts don't apply to mountains.
Day 1: 6 miles
Flew to Charlotte and set off for Uncle Johnny's Hostel in Erwin, TN. From there, we were shuttled to Walnut Mountain Road and dropped off on the AT at 5:45pm. To stay on schedule, we needed to get about 6 miles in on the first night which meant a couple of hours hiking with headlamps. We did manage to see a couple of nice sights before nightfall.
Day 2: 7 miles
The rain started around 3am and continued until approx. 3pm that afternoon. Waking up in the rain and packing up a wet tent would soon become an all-too-familiar start to the morning (and quite frankly something that I would learn to hate). This was supposed to be a 13.5 mile day over Hump Mtn ending at Overmountain Shelter, but a few hours into the hike, my partner started bottoming out. He later confessed that he hadn't been eating or drinking much, but by the time the symptoms set in, he couldn't recover. We ended up stopping at Dolls Flat for the night.
Interestingly enough, I had decent cell signal and decided to check the weather while tying to dry out my gear for the night. That's when I saw the updated forecast: Tonight's Low: 38F with rain and strong winds from the northwest. Wellshoot. Going back to the planning, I didn't bring any cold weather gear, everything was wet (despite dry bags, pack covers, etc), and I was using my summer sleeping bag (oops).
As the daylight began to fade, the sun poked through the clouds for a brief moment, almost teasing us before the front hit. And it hit hard.
Day 3: 13.5 miles
I spent the night waking up with shakes every hour or so. The wind was relentless, and despite taking all available measures to stay warm, there was just no escaping the cold. The morning couldn't come soon enough.
Once it did, light revealed that we were still basically stuck in the clouds. No sunlight to warm us up or dry the gear; just a blanket of moisture and intermittent rain mixed in with the cold wind. When I did see signs of the sun for the first time, I'll admit, the sight was almost worth the wait.
The next challenge was going to be getting up and over Hump Mountain, Little Hump Mountain and down to Overmountain Shelter. The sun was out, but the air was still cold and the wind on these balds was impeded by nothing but us.
Unfortunately in the process of getting over the mountain, I messed up my ankle pretty bad sliding in a rut next to the trail. I knew when I heard the pops that it would possibly jeopardize us reaching our targeted destination, but I was pretty determined not to make a big deal about it. After another couple of miles, we were able to get off the exposed faces and assess/treat the damage.
Ace wrap, ibuprofen, 7 miles, and 1500 ft up to Roan High Knob Shelter. When the adrenaline of the injury wore off, each step became a reminder of what the reality of the remaining hike would be. Uncomfortable (though at times, beautiful)
Day 4: 8 miles
Another night waking up shaking in the cold. Once again, the camping area was blanketed in clouds with strong windsnot surprising given this is the highest shelter on the AT. At this point, it was just becoming a grind. Everything was wet and cold, even responding to nature's call was a challenge given the weather conditions.
We reformulated a plan that morning to spend the night at Clyde Smith Shelter. This would allow us to pace ourselves better and give us some time to actually relax and enjoy some downtime pending weather improvementwhich luckily it did. We also had cell reception and made a call to the shuttle service to change the extraction arrangements. The few hours around a campfire with blue skies was probably the highlight from a pure enjoyment standpoint.
Day 5: 6 miles
Big surpriseit started raining again overnight and continued through the morning. It wasn't nearly as cold, but still enough to make my 55F sleeping bag uncomfortable. Hiking out into the rain didn't really make a difference knowing it was the last day. Hurt ankle and all, we still averaged about 2.5 mph from CSH to Iron Mountain Gap.
Overall, the weather definitely wasn't favorable. With different conditions, we may have been able to move a little faster and possibly reach our initial goal. But part of the adventure is adapting to the situations, responding to challenges, and making everything a learning experiencewhich we ultimately did. We still managed to put in 42 miles on the trail--25 of which was limping.
