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Published: April 7th 2007
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OD
What an expearince! Last evening, after I did my entry, we had three men walk
down to the shelter. They looked rougher than either of us felt. It was a father
and two of his sons. They settled around the fire to warm their bones before
attempting to cook supper. They were from the Philly area and heading home. They
said their truck was parked at bottom of the mountain we were on. With a couple
hours of daylight left I told them they could be at the truck in an hour or
less. The father said he could not walk 10 feet more and would go down the
mountain in the morning after a nights rest. I told them the couple that had
just passed through said it would be mighty cold and the truck and home might be
better. Tom (father) said he was staying put until the sun came up in the
morning.
The past two nights CC and I have had to be creative to stay warm. Last light
was the worst! About 2AM CC told me to slide close and snuggle my bag against
hers because she was very cold. Shivering and
trying to keep warm was what we
did for the remainder of the night. We had all our cloths on right next to one
another and still borderline hypothermic. About 7AM the tent glowed a warm shade
of orange as the sun came up. I put on my shoes, as that was the only thing I
didn't have on and went outside. Opening the tent flap I was greeted by 17
degrees F, light wind, and 4 inches of fresh snow. Tom started the fire and I went
about getting a handle on the days events. After some talk of the trail that Tom
and his sons had come down the evening before. The stretch before us was tricky
the day before, and now with snow, was dangerous by my assesment. CC was in the
tent and had came up with the same plan as me. We would come off the trail for a
day or two until the weather improved to what our equipment could handle.
We came down the mountain with Tom and the sons, cramed into a smaller than
optimal pickup, got a ride into Front Royal, VA, got a motel room, and started to
warm
up. After showers, food not out of a bag, laundry done, and a trip to the
store, CC and I are much more comfortable than last night. We will stay here in
town until Monday, then head back out when the nights are not so cold.
CC
OD had a saying in the Army that fits our situation: "There is a fine line
between being hard and being stupid." I belive we are hard, and it would have
been stupid to try and continue with the predicted colder temps and high winds
today and tomorrow. I would like to give a special thanks to Tom Sr, Tom Jr, and
Sean for the ride to town. With the proper cold weather gear we could have
stayed out on the trail. We anticipated some cooler temps but nothing down into
the teens. So coming to town was the safe thing to do. This morning on the way
down the mountain, I felt something I have never felt even in Alaska. My fingers
even in my gloves started to feel like they were freezing from my palm out.
Stiffness set in and my fingers felt like sticks. I thought I might
lose them. I
called OD back so I could stuff them into his jacket and warm them up. When they started to sting and come back to life, OD had me clentch my hands around my treking poles and pump my arms to get the blood flowing. Hearing that I knew it was my only priority. It is amazing how when you sense there is something you need to do for your survival all else is
forgotten. Like the other night when we were late getting into camp. We were
walking with headlamps on a plank walk over a swampy area. I heard something
behind me in the dark, I thought BEAR! No more tired feet, look out OD I'll take
the point from here! I thought no more this morning about my knees or other body
parts that might be tender. I almost ran down the snow covered trail trying to
get warm blood into my finger tips.
We made it to the truck and into town. Now warm and looking back, I know we
did the right thing and even though it was scary, I am glad I have gone through
it. Thank the Lord, He has
been with us all the time and watching overs with
protecting hands. Looking forward to getting back to the trail as soon as
possible.
Patrick, Deborah Mooney aka OD & CC
All Who Wander Are Not Lost
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Debbie
non-member comment
And here I thought...
And here I thought it was cold here in FL! Thinking of you both...