Day 19 - What a Difference Elevation Makes
Miles hike today 18.4. Total height 240.3.
Woke up this morning with a dire need to use the facilities. It was freezing outside-heck it was freezing in my tent too. Reached for my shoes they were frozen solid. Could not get my feet in so stuck my toes in so I could make a run to the privy. With much effort I finally got out of the tent, walk three steps only to sink into the snow to find myself standing in a stream. What a way to start the day.
When you’re cold and out on the Appalachian trail the only thing to do is to start hiking. We left camp around 7:15. The sun was up, but just barely.
All the slush had refrozen into an ankle twisting, conglomerate of footprints. For the first two hours of hike it was a dangerous, slow going, slippery mess.
We had some beautiful views!
And as we dropped an elevation the trail got better and the walking became more enjoyable.
The sun was out and in the afternoon and actually got hot. Here is where we replenished our water.
Mid afternoon we came to a large folder that was climbable with a great view behind it. Needless to say I climbed the Boulder.
Then it was more down, down, down. I love the downs but this one was it awful long way down and it starts to get to your knees. We crossed over interstate 40 and headed toward Standing Bear Hostile.
This place is a hoot! A ramshackled bunch of buildings. But they sell beer so it’s a favorite of the young crowd.
They have a wash tub and a scouring board if you want to do laundry. They do have an electric dryer! I used both. The instructions were told to us don’t turn on the Cold water in the shower are everybody gets cold. I followed the instructions the person in the next cubicle evidently did not-I hate cold showers. I kept telling them to turn off the cold but they did not understand English.
The next picture is of the store. This place is on the honor system which I find fascinating. They give you an envelope to write down what you buy and in the morning you settle up.
