April 12
End: Trimpi Shelter
Miles: 25.1
Total: 2382.4
It was literally freezing outside in the morning. The water in my bottles froze for the first time on my whole trek. It was windy and because I was actually warm in my sleeping bag, I stayed there for a long time, as did everyone else. Finally Jeff Davis and a few other hikers got up and built a morning fire. I used it on my stiff toes before leaving the shelter.
Despite my late start, it was still frigid. I wore my stealth quilt throughout the Grayson Highlands, which were beautiful but extremely windy. I saw a couple of the small horses which all hikers look forward to seeing.
After The Scales I got back into the wooded territory which usually protected me from the gale force winds I experienced earlier. As I passed shelters in the early afternoon, people were already stopped there and sitting by campfires to stay warm. It would be difficult to believe that anyone was doing a lot of miles given the cold weather.
Though originally I had wanted to get to the famed Partnership Shelter which had a shower, I settled on Trimpi Shelter because of my late start. I made it there with plenty of time before dark, and got a spot in the shelter despite the large group of hikers already there.
I met You Again and other northbound thru-hikers, a couple of army guys out for the weekend, and Heavy Hopeful, a dog and owner going south to Damascus to finish a flip-flop hike of the whole Appalachian Trail. I asked a few questions of Heavy Hopeful’s owner and she gave me some good information on parts of the trail ahead.
The army guys got a fire going in the shelter fireplace and I sat right by it, staying quite warm. Eventually we all went to sleep, and the fire died down. It was a much warmer night than my previous experience.
