Maine's 100 Mile Wilderness from atop Mt. Katahdin

Sunday, April 3, 2011

It Blew and It Blew

A big wind blew in overnight while I slept, bringing with it very cold temperatures and snow.  I walked in the snow for the first couple of hours, being very cautious not to fall as there weren't many hikers around to provide help if I ran into trouble.  In fact, I only saw two other hikers on the trail all day.  Where did they all go?  At Sam's Gap, where the AT passes under I-26 between Erwin, TN and Asheville, NC, I met 2010 thru-hikers Giant and Doppler who were providing trail magic of drinks and snacks to everyone who came through.  It wasn't that productive a day for them as it turns out I was the only hiker they had seen all day.  After thanking them profusely I bundled up again for the brutal climb to the top of Big Bald.  Sam's Gap is at 2700' elevation while Big Bald would top out at 5600'.  My trail guide says : "Stop at the summit to enjoy the only 360 degree unrestricted view above 5000' on the AT."  I presume the person who wrote that wasn't up there under the same conditions I was experiencing.  The snow was driving horizontally as the wind was simply howling.  At one point it was so strong it actually blew me off of my feet.  According to my research it takes a wind speed of at least 70 mph to blow a grown man off their feet.  I would believe those were the conditions I experienced on this day.  Once back on my feet I quickly hiked down off the summit and made it to the Bald Mt. Shelter to spend the night.  Holy cow it was cold there with the snow blowing around and gusty winds sucking away any heat my body could generate.  I was in my sleeping bag at 6:00pm just to stay warm and then stayed there the rest of the night.
Mileage to date = 323.0

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