Total trail mileage: 200.2
Starting location: Silers Bald Shelter
Ending location: Mt Collins Shelter
Weather: Sunny all day, warm but not as warm as yesterday
I am at
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=35.359658,+-83.566458 (it is quite a bit
off)
Today I hit the highest point on the AT, which is Clingmans Dome at
6643 ft. The views from the tower were impressive and it was
perfectly clear today. We could see 100 miles in every direction.
Since Clingmans Dome is the highest, that means the rest of the trip
is downhill, right?
The section after Clingmans Dome was doable. Sure it was deep snow
and sure it was slow going, but it wasn't that much worse than what I
have already gone through. There was about 4-5 ft of snow under the
trail in a lot of places and I am sure there were 6-7 ft of snow at
points on the side of the trail. But, a lot of the time I could stay
above the snow pack although there were plenty of times of punching
through. At one point both my legs slipped into foot holes and
neither foot reached the ground. I had to push down on my poles until
I could lay back on my pack on the snow. At that point I could pull
me feet out. It was actually kind of fun, despite the slow progress.
Again, my dad and I have the shelter to ourselves. After getting my
feet dry and warm in the sleeping bag (they were starting to freeze
again as soon as I stopped moving), I was able to go back outside to
make dinner. After that we got a fire going.
Oh, I forgot to mention that I hit Tennessee at some point in the last
couple days. The trail through most of the Smokeys lies directly on
the TN/NC border. I don't know which day I hit the border though.
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