[at-l] My April winter hike

[KarenS62@xxxxxxx (KarenS62@xxxxxxx)]

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After an unexpected late day of work last friday, I arranged for a shuttle by
Miss Janet from Damascu7s to Iron Mtn gap the next day. She dropped me off
close to 4pm (lots of pizza and gossip had crossed our lips by then). I hiked
in about 5 miles and stealth camped short of Greasy Creek Gap. About midnight
I was relieved to hear the rain had stopped. About 2am I woke to find I had
either grown a foot or my tent was getting shorter. Turns out the inches of
snow had weighed down the ends of the Lite n Airy. After that, I went out
every couple of hours to knock the snow off and a couple of times to actually
dig the tent out with my trowel.  By the time I made the decision to
backtrack to the Gap (which is a "major" road) the snow was almost to my
knees with mid-thigh high drifts.  Breaking trail the 5 miles back to the
road was a fun little hike with the snow and the sleet whipping into my face
and the wind blowing. it was pretty though....

Once again, magic prevailed and a pickup truck pulled up just as I came out
of the woods. The driver got out and said he wasn't leaving until I got in
because he woulnd't leave an animal out in the weather. A quick call to Miss
Janet and soon I was tucked in for a nap at the Holiday Inn in Erwin.  A
friend picked me up the next day (after he dug out from where he was snowed
in) and brought me home to do yardwork - no snow here in Asheville at that
point. I got dropped off again at the new relo at 19E -two nice falls and it
would make a really nice day hike for any of you in the area. The rest of my
hike was pretty uneventful. It was hot and sunny (almost 80) then it rained
and rained and rained some more. A fitting end for one of my hikes - made me
feel right at home.

I had a wonderful time and am drying out my gear for more fun this weekend.

Life is good.

POG