[at-l] AT Hike Report: Day 23

[ARTCLOUTMN at aol.com (ARTCLOUTMN@xxxxxxx)]

Monday, 03/31/03  Double Spring Shelter                 7 miles
    What a beautiful hike today, with snow everywhere and blue skies above.  
We must have relieved 6 inches of snow with lots of drifting in windy areas.  
The temperature may have reached 40 degrees but it was cold.  At 7 am the 
temperature was 20 degrees.  And I did have to get up during the night, the 
temperature was 18 degrees.  
    Coyote and F-8 got out of camp early.  The girls decided to sleep in this 
morning.  I think they were letting us break trail.  They planned on leaving 
about 11 AM.  We were hiking by 9 AM.
    It was perfect conditions for spotting animal tracks in the snow.  We 
were able to identify coyote/wolf tracks, fox tracks, weasel and some very large 
bird tracks .  We could see Clingman?s Dome as we got close to Double Spring 
Shelter.  Laura and Danielle passed us about 1:00 PM.  They were moving fast.  
A lot faster then the two of us can hike.  They had a hard time putting on 
their hiking shoes this morning.  It was very painful since their shoes were 
frozen solid.  They told us later that they got a summer job through a college 
instructor as assistant for a photography course.  College kids go all over the 
world in this program for photo opportunities.  They had been to Africa, 
Antarctica, and many places in Europe. They were the goffers, pack haulers, cooks, 
etc.  They developed their hiking skills from these experiences. 
    Froto Moto showed up in camp for the night.  He is trying to catch up 
with Coyote.  Coyote and F-8 were heading to Gatlinburg.  Wonder if they made it. 
 It was hard hiking in the snow but what a wonderful day.  The trees were 
covered with snow and the sky was so blue it looked black.