If you walked into our shelter at the end of the day, you’d have seen a delightful fire in the fireplace, great company, lots of food, and a bunch of hikers tired from a 12+ mile day.

If you’d arrived just a bit earlier, you’d have seen the same hikers desperately struggling to get warm and dry after hiking all day through up to 8″ of snow! The firewood we were burning had to be harvested from under that snow, so it was tough to find. Once found, it was cold and wet and really tough to burn. I burned the back of my ALDHA thru-hikers companion—the birdcalls, the animal tracks and most of Maine. It was the best use of the book yet! If you’re thinking about thru-hiking, do yourself a favor and buy/carry the Thru-hikers Handbook by Dan Bruce instead!

We’d woken up to 3” of snow and an additional 5” fell on us during the day. It made for a tough hike but luckily my right leg shin splint was only fairly brutal today. I’m really looking forward to some time off and TLC in Hot Springs in 3 days.

My down Western Mountaineering Flight Jacket really set me up well today. While many of the hikers were bundled up in sleeping bags, fighting hypothermia in the shelter or out searching for firewood, I was toasty. It was still a bitch lighting the fire, but so much less so because I wasn’t shivering at the same time. 11 ounces is a lot of weight to carry on a thru-hike but today that item proved it always has a place in my pack when I’m hiking in cold temps.

We’re staying again tonight with the Jaybirds and Rockhound as well as Chris and Anna. Also Chris – a high school senior from Ohio out for spring break. Preacher (GA -> ME ’01) and his friend Ted are here hiking part of the Smokies. And we met Eagle—an interesting character spending the night here too.

It’s time to wrap up and stay warm and dry in my sleeping bag. 7pm bedtime tonight. Tomorrow’s a long day descending 3,000 foot and perhaps exiting the park!