Day 2 - 3/03

Daily mileage: 11.0
Total trail mileage: 11.2
Starting location: Springer Mountain Shelter
Ending location: Sassafras Mountain
Weather: clear all day, low teens last night, 18 degrees in the
morning, high 20s to low 30s during the day

I am at
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=34.652872,+-84.093963

Wow, it was windy last night. I didn't know which was more likely:
one of the trees I was tied to blowing over or me and my hammock
blowing away in the wind. Fortunately neither happened. Throughout
the night I was warm except for my feet again in the early morning.
Trying something different tonight...I'll let you know how that goes.

I was the first to leave the shelter this morning but Doc Bob caught
up to me before too long and Stiltz and Mike (no trailname yet,
possibly No Pants or Sasquatch) ran into me later. We got to Hawk
Mountain Shelter in the early afternoon, had lunch, and then 12
Percent showed up. We were faced with a decision to continue or not.
If we wanted to stick to the shelters it would either be 7.3 more
miles or a rather long day tomorrow. Stiltz and 12 Percent decided to
try to make the next shelter, Doc Bob decided to stay for the night at
Hawk Mountain Shelter, Mike was going to build a fire and then decide,
and I decided to just do a few more miles and then camp away from a
shelter. So we split for now. I didn't see NateDog at all after the
morning, but I think he was going to start late and then stop at Hawk
Mountain Shelter.

Snow cover is noticably less at lower elevations, and the snow has
mostly been packed down thanks to foot traffic. It is really easy to
follow the trail right now, and the snow provides enough traction so
there is no need for the traction devices. Being short helps when
trying to navigate the snow-covered rhododendren gauntlets.

The hike today was nice with all the snow cover. It passed a number
of streams, and it had a decent view while climbing the mountains
(although there weren't any clear vistas so I don't know how the
pictures will turn out).

I had much better luck tonight with the wood stove. I was shielded by
wind, had a good supply of very dry wood, and remembered to put the
lighter in my pocket for a while to heat up. It didn't take much to
get it going, but melting snow is highly time consuming. I am still
leaning toward switching stoves though as there is so much hassle that
I don't want to deal with when I just want food. It is fun though to
cook on a fire without needing fuel.

Anyway, I'll see what the plan is tomorrow. I might try for Woods
Hole Shelter or I might just camp again somewhere off the side of the
trail.