[at-l] Two Years Ago Today...

[janl2 at mindspring.com (Jan Leitschuh)]

...I was on top of Max Patch. No April Fool.
It was not spring up there. WIN-DY!
But - it was brilliantly sunny.
It really felt great to be alive.

The deep snow had been swept off the bare top onto the downhill side - 
the side I was trudging up - kicking steps, really.

I was hiking with Pop-Pop, Sonic and Guana that day and, being the 
first up there, we faced a hanging cornice of snow that we basically 
had to swim through, uphill.

It was hip-deep, and we were breaking through the crust, slipping and 
falling back in it and laughing so hard it made getting back up difficult.
Man! Great fun!

Being clear, on top of course we had that endless rolling view of 
multiple snow-capped ranges that makes Max Patch so special. The wind 
would steal your breath away, and put the roses in our cheeks, both sets.

You just can't be mad at the world up there.

Made it to Roaring Fork Shelter, and hobbled into Hot Springs the next 
day for a large meal at the Smoky Mountain diner.

Ahhh, bacon, flapjacks, hash browns, eggs and hot coffee.... and then 
that hot shower - ooooh, baby! That was livin'...
What a good time I had on my thru-hike.

Nostalgi-Shoe

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