Gulp!

Apr. 5, 2011
If someone had suggested to me at ten o'clock this morning that it was time to give up this crazy quest and return home I would have been the first in line with my credit card to buy a ticket.
Perhaps it would be best to go back to the beginning of the day to see how it unfolded. 
Before setting foot on the trail this morning I stopped at Uncle Johnny's in Erwin, TN to buy a new GoLite raincoat as my O2 Rainwear jacket was falling apart.  It was a good day to have a raincoat as there was still a light drizzle falling after more than two inches of rain had fallen overnight.  I was a very happy guy as I walked out of Erwin knowing that I was warm and dry on this cool 37 degree morning.  The first few miles saw the trail winding its way alongside a raging stream that was swollen from the rain overnight.  Occasionally there would be a bridge across the stream at the locations where the trail needed to be routed to a location above the high water mark.  Unfortunately, the trail planners had not fully imagined what two inches of rain would do to the run off patterns in the valley.  About 2 miles from town I came to a raging torrent of water that was 1-3 feet deep and about 20 feet wide.  How the heck do I get across this?  If there were stream hopping rocks under dryer conditions there certainly weren't any to be seen on this day.  As I looked up and down stream for some other crossing options I saw a fallen tree that spanned the whole waterway.  Hmm, maybe I can walk across the log and stay dry rather than have to ford the stream.  Before stepping onto the log I unbuckled the waist belt of my pack so that I could release it if I happened to fall in.
Slowly, ever so slowly, I shuffled my way out onto the log, using my hiking poles to steady myself.  About halfway across I thought to myself: "Hmm, these shoes I have are actually quite slippery on wet surfaces.  I wonder if they will keep traction?" 
Just as the thought finished my feet slipped and I tumbled into the water, upstream from the log.  The raging current quickly grabbed my pack, twisted me backwards and pulled me downstream, causing my head to conk against the log as I went underneath it.  The current was amazingly strong but I managed to use my poles to push myself to shore where I quickly scrambled out and caught my breath.  Phew, that was a close call.  I took my clothes off and wrung the water out as best as I could.  There was no point in putting the rain pants back on as they were as wet inside as out which made them cling to my legs, drawing away any heat I may have still had in my body.
What to do now?  I'm soaking wet.  It's 37 degrees.  Town is on the other side of that stream.  I guess the only thing to do is keep walking up this hill and hope that I can stay warm enough from the exertion to prevent hypothermia.  So, with my rain coat fastened all the way up, and water dripping from my shorts onto my bare legs, I donned my pack and started walking uphill.  One of the disadvantages of walking uphill from an elevation of 1400' to 4600' is that the temperature drops dramatically.  Within a half hour I was walking in the snow and would continue to do so for the rest of the day.  The wind howled as I crossed a couple of bald's, completely obliterating the tracks of any hikers who had gone before me.  Keep moving.  Just keep moving.  Fortunately, the brand new rain coat actually worked as predicted and wicked the moisture away from my body such that my shirt was completely dry after only 4 hours of walking.  The shoes and socks never dried as they kept filling with snow.
Along about 4:30 I saw a sign for the Greasy Creek Friendly Hostel, just 0.6 miles off the trail.  Any opportunity to get warm and dry seemed perfect to me so I made the long descent off the ridge to the hostel.  The warmth from the wood stove made me the happiest man in the mountains on this cold day.  Even though I had to sleep on a couch as it was the only place available I was delirious with delight to know that I had survived what I hope will be the most dangerous day I will face on the trail.

Mileage to date = 364.2