Ward called home. He hiked 16+ miles yesterday to a hostel at Neel's Gap. The terrain was rugged, and they crossed Blood Mountain, the highest peak in the Georgia section of the AT (approx. 4500 ft.). Ward was hiking about 20 minutes ahead of Matt and passed an older couple along a side trail. Matt came along later and told Ward the gentleman suffered a heart attack, evidently after Ward passed him. As Ward and Matt backtracked to the main trail they met EMTs, and discovered the man passed away. How sad for the family.
Today is a zero day, meaning he will stay at the hostel and will not hike, as another ice storm rolled in last night or early this morning. When we spoke after noon, the sun was beginning to shine for the first time on his trip. He and some others, including two section hikers he met from Georgia, have secured transportation to a nearby town where they plan to have lunch. Lunch may be tough for Ward, as it is highly unlikely they have Chick-fil-a or Sir Pizza in this town.
It has been cold. Ward thinks he made a mistake in purchasing an ultra-light sleeping bag even though it is rated to "0" degrees. He has another, warmer bag at home, which we will either ship or deliver to him the next time we're together. That may be next weekend. (Yes, we're nervous parents). Regardless, he says he is OK for the time being.
Some southbound hikers are telling him the snow is deep in the upper elevations moving north. They recommend show shoes. What a surprise! I've never heard of anyone wearing show shoes in NC. The thought of Ward wearing show shoes reminds me of Yukon Cornelius, the gold prospector in the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer cartoon.
Ward plans to increase the pace in the coming days. He hiked about 8 miles each of the first two days, which put him at his destination around 12 or 1 PM, and left him with nothing else to do. He was only slightly fatigued on the 16 mile day, and liked the fact that much of his day was not wasted. Both he and Matt want to push through the trip quickly. I keep telling him to focus on the journey, and not just the destination, but what do I know. I'm just sitting in a warm, cozy home thinking about tonight's Super Bowl.
Sounds like Ward is strong. Thought...Many of the southbound hikers have been hiking in soft fluffy snow in the high Smokies (above 6000 ft.) Snowshoes are useful in these conditions but useless in the hard crunchy "re-freeze" snow. This is where a pair of light duty cleets come in handy for traction. I hope this blog is posting...Keep on keppin' on Ward.
ReplyDeleteLove reading the posts - makes me feel like I'm on the journey from the comfort of my warm office.
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