Total trail mileage: 192.2
Starting location: Spence Field Shelter
Ending location: Silers Bald Shelter
Weather: SUNNY ALL DAY! 45 degrees in the morning, warm throughout
the day
I am at
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=35.564684,+-83.715298
Today was another nice day. The weather was good, and there were a
number of awesome views of North Carolina, Tennessee, and the Great
Smoky Mountain National Park. The trail was a mix of mud, dirt, and
snow, but a majority of the trail was snow. It was soft though and
provided enough traction, so it wasn't too much of a hinderence.
I ran into Moon Pie and Doozy today at lunch. They were pushing ahead
to the next shelter along with the 4 other guys that were with us last
night. Sundance also showed up at lunch, but I believe he and his dad
were going to stay at that shelter for the night (well, at least we
haven't seen them).
Right now my dad and I have the shelter to ourselves. Tonight is
colder, and my feet started to freeze as soon as I pulled them out of
my shoes. They were soaked from trudging through the snow and mud.
As soon as I got them into the sleeping bag they felt better.
My right knee is still causing pain occassionally, and I have some
sort of bug bite or poison rash on the back of my hands. Surprisingly
those are my only injuries so far. The knee is manageable, it just
causes me to go slower on the downhill and favor my left leg on steep
uphills. The rash will probably go away after a couple days. I have
a number of blisters, but none are causing any pain at all.
We ran into Ridgerunner Scott today on the trail. His report was that
the section after Clingmans Dome has deep snow and his recommendation
is to take the access road around that section. However, it is
supposedly doable. He also said the section after Icewater Shelter is
a bit messy. Well, we'll find out tomorrow about the Clingmans Dome
section...
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