March 26 – 5.5
They opened the road to the trail! We woke on Tuesday morning with everything feeling good. Leaps stomach bug was gone and my knees were feeling fine. So, we contacted the taxi service to take us back to the trail head at Tesnatee Gap.
Our game plan was to test my knees on Wildcat Mountain and go 5.5 miles to Low Gap shelter. We stepped out of the taxi and felt a cold blast of air hit us as it raced thru the gap. At that point we should have reconsidered but the forecast called for a warming trend after today and we were anxious to get back on the trail. We knew there was a freeze warning in the mountains for the night, but we had comfortably survived 20 degrees before and I had added a sleeping bag liner to my gear.
So off we went into the mountains! It was a beautiful and crisp afternoon. It was obvious we had lost some fitness as we huffed and puffed our way up. At the top of Wildcat Mountain we were rewarded with great views and a few flowers trying to tell us all that spring was around the corner. We didn’t linger long since the wind was whipping and we had gotten a late start. At one point it started snowing! It was very pretty, but very cold.
I was surprised at how fast we were able to cover ground until we started down hills. My knees at first just felt weak and then, by the last downhill after Sheep Rock Top, my knees were screaming again. Every slow step downhill was agony! My knees failed the test day miserably! We finally reached our destination at Low Gap shelter about 4:30 and set up camp.
It was so cold that we ate a slice of cheese, a piece of french bread and beef jerky for dinner. We couldn’t wait to get into the tent and out of the cold wind. Leap set the bear bag and in we went. We couldn’t get warm. I put on every layer I had. Leap described me as a Russian nesting doll. My top layer consisted of a sports bra, short sleeve shirt, a long sleeve base layer, a down jacket, a fleece and then finally my rain coat. I had on two wool socks, two long underwear layers and my rain pants. Then I got into my sleeping bag liner, sleeping bag and then covered our bags with a Mylar blanket. It was cold!
Misery loves company and we had lots of company today on the trail. I have devided hikers into two groups. Social and antisocial. We have been in awe of how many young adults have stopped to talk with us and genuinely seem interested in having conversations although usually about hiking and the weather. But, they don’t seem to be in a hurry and are very respectful and seem curious about us. I find it very enjoyable to hear their stories and the commiserate with them about hiking woes. They have all been very encouraging to us and we hope we have inspired them a little bit, too! We run into some older hikers as well, usually men and usually solo. They have more complicated stories and many have years of hiking experience behind them. Then there are the antisocial group. Usually around 30 yrs old and usually solo. They don’t want to talk and generally seem very aloof. They can sometimes make me feel uneasy but they keep to themselves and there are more of us than them. I have never felt unsafe with any hiker and actually feel a growing kinship. It seems the trail is an easy place to make friends!
