Day 35-36 The Ice Storm Hit-eth!

22 Apr, Day 35, 10.5 miles, Low Gap at AT mm 321.1. So we had a bit of change of plan. I took a break at a shelter 5 miles from our campsite and actually had phone service for the first time time in 8 days or so which was nice. After I txt Vicki and posted the blog I checked the weather and saw these cozy little warnings.... Number 1 Local Severe Weather Alert for location Wind Advisory in effect from 8PM EDT SUN until 8AM EDT TUE ... WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 8 PM THIS EVENING TO 8 AM EDT  TUESDAY... THE WIND ADVISORY IS FOR THE NORTHERN PARTS OF THE  CUMBERLAND PLATEAU... SMOKY MOUNTAINS... NORTHEAST TENNESSEE AND  SOUTHWESTERN VIRGINIA.  * EVENT... AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE BRINGS STRONG AND GUSTY NORTHWEST  WINDS TO THE REGION.  * TIMING... NORTHWEST WINDS OF 15 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH  WILL DEVELOP THIS EVENING... AND CONTINUE THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT.  * IMPACTS... WINDS THIS STRONG LOOSE OUTDOOR OBJECTS MAY NEED TO BE SECURED OR PLACED INDOORS.  A WIND ADVISORY MEANS THAT WINDS OF 26 TO 39 MPH AND/OR GUSTS OF  40 TO 57 MPH ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. So securing outdoor items means putting in all 8 tent pegs. If the wind wasn't bad enough, a few minutes later we got this bit of good news. Number 2 ... STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS AND MUCH COLDER TEMPERATURES TONIGHT ...TEMPERATURES WILL FALL TO WELL BELOW NORMAL WITH READINGS IN THE  30S COMMON BY MONDAY MORNING. WIND CHILL READINGS WILL BE AT OR  BELOW FREEZING AROUND DAYBREAK MONDAY. THE COLD TEMPERATURES WILL  CONTINUE WITH POSSIBLE FROST OR FREEZES BY TUESDAY  MORNING... ESPECIALLY ACROSS NORTHEAST TENNESSEE AND SOUTHWEST  VIRGINIA.  RAIN SHOWERS WILL CHANGE OVER TO SNOW SHOWERS ACROSS THE HIGHER  ELEVATIONS OF SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA AND NORTHEAST TENNESSEE INCLUDING  THE SMOKYS TONIGHT. THE SNOW FALL WILL BE HEAVY AND MAY RESULT IN  SOME TREE DAMAGE. SOME ACCUMULATION IS EXPECTED ABOVE 3000 FEET. Our plan was to do 15 miles today and head to Bald Mountain Shelter.  Well, "bald" means no trees and shrubs...basically an open top mountain...makes sense. Issue number 2 is that you cross over big bald at 5516 feet and the shelter is at 5100 feet. Neither of those sound appealing based on the weather. So some of us opted to stop at Low Gap at 4300 feet and ride this thing out. So i got here at 3pm in the rain with the forecast calling for clear skies by 4. Yedi, Atlas, and Cheeks showed up shortly after and we started gathering wood for The fire...we thought that was better than standing in the rain and once it cleared up we would be ready. So 4pm came and went and the wind picked up and the rain did not stop. We tried to start a fire as we were all very wet and very cold but to no avail. So i set up my tent in the rain...in record time which is not bad considering I was shivering and could not feel my fingers. :). Anyway, got everything in, including two very wet golden retrievers, changed into my dry winter gear and crawled into my sleeping bag. I can't say it was the coldest I've ever been but it certainly was not comfortable. It is now 6:20 pm, it's rain/hailing outside and very windy. Dinner may be a few trail bars tonight. We really cannot complain as we have gone 34 days with really great wether for the most part. We all knew it was only a matter of time so it's all part of the journey. With that said, some of our group opted to get rides into Erwin and slack pack this bit tomorrow. I was already set up in my sleeping bag 4 miles from the road when one of our folks came into camp and told us that...right now that sounded like a very good option. :). I will let you all know how the night went tomorrow. 23 Apr, Day 36, 14.6 miles, No Business Knob Shelter at AT mm 335.7.  There are now two reasons for me to remember this date. First and foremost, it is my nieces birthday...Happy Birthday Mattie!!!  The second is this is the date I woke up with about a centimeter of ice covering my tent...The weather warnings were accurate. I woke up around 1:30am listen to the storm and notice the tent seemed smaller. I turned on Headlamp to see ice pressing around the tent. I went to knock it off then realized it was warm in the tent so it was acting as pretty goo insulation so I left it there. This morning was a bit of a chore knocking all the ice off to pack it when it was still sleeting/freezing rain but I got there in the end. The poles were frozen together so I tried thawing them with a lighter but it was to windy so I just used my hand/body temperature to melt the ice. On a three man tent that's a lot of sections. To give you an idea of the cold and wind. I have been hiking every day in shorts and a T-shirt. Today I wore long pants (you heard that right...long pants), my cold weather under armor top, another long sleeve UA top, my fleece, my rain coat with the hood up and a hat a gloves. I wore that for all 14.6 miles...it was a cold day. The Bald that I mentioned was downright challenging. 20 yards visibility, Wind gusts to 50mph, freezing rain and sleet and cold! I'm currently 225, plus clothes plus a 50 pound pack and I was being pushed around. I wish I had thought to video some of it as it I am sure it was comical. :)  most of the day was in trees so not as windy at times. After lunch we started coming down a bit and the sun broke out so it ended up being an ok day. A very challenging start but it's all part of the journey. I got to this shelter an decided to stay. Some walked the extra six miles into down just to get out of the cold and some hitched a ride at a road 3 miles back. So I found myself sitting in the shelter by myself for the first time on the trip. It was kind of strange but cool. I made a fire and hung up my tent and clothes to dry and thought I would have my first night solo when "No Tech" walked in at 6:45pm. Very nice guy so we chatted around the campfire until I crawled in my tent at 8:30. So a challenging but rewarding day so I feel great! An easy 6 miles into Erwin tomorrow so I will be there by lunch and spend the rest of the day doing town stuff and giving the rest of the wolf pack  LOADs of grief for leaving the trail during a storm...Ole Papa Wolf is the lone survivor. :). On the upside they do have a room ready for me so I'll give them that.