[at-l] Survival was Trail Etiquette

[Ambler2000@aol.com (Ambler2000@aol.com)]

My favorite hiking experience...

I had left Silers Bald Shelter in the am in the sun and 5 minutes later it 
started to pour.  I was wishing that it would stop raining, and my wish came 
true as I passed Double Spring Gap Shelter and the rain changed to snow...I 
could feel the temperature drop minute-by minute.

When I got to Clingman's there were no more footprints in the snow.  All the 
hikers in front of me had gotten off there and used their cell phones to get 
transportation into Gatlinburg.  The snow was coming down so hard and my 
shoes were frozen. I was walking on the ruts on the path instead of in them, 
because they were filled and frozen up.  I was alone on the trail.

I saw a road through the trees and stopped and paused, should I get off?  I 
felt that I was closer to the shelter then to anyplace near the road and 
decided to depend on my gear and get to the shelter.

I got to the shelter and the thermometer of someone who was already there 
read 16 degrees.  Snow was streaming down and blowing in the shelter.  Tarps 
got hung to stop the snow from coming and I curled up in my bag thinking 
about how wonderful my walk was in the quiet of the snow.

The next day, I had to use my stove to thaw out my shoes, but the sun was 
out.  It was a gorgeous hike in the snow to Newfound Gap.  

        Ambler


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