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January 11th, 2016

1/11/2016

5 Comments

 
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The excursions of the imagination are so boundless, the limits of town are so petty. Thoreau

Morning y'all,

It's a beautiful, cold, clear morning up top. The high yesterday reached 23 degrees, recorded early yesterday morning. The overnight low was 1 degree. It was 7 degrees and clear at 7am observation. The mountain received the liquid equivalent of .03 inches of snow with a trace on the ground. There is still about an inch up top. I'd wear traction for any hike today, as the cold temperatures will have formed plenty of black ice. There will also be a bit of snow covering those slick areas, which are some of the most dangerous conditions (just these type of conditions broke my ribs last season) on the mountain. Be careful out there today folks!

It's amazing that I haven't had to use Microspikes yet this season (that will change with tomorrow's hike), but my season reached one of my favorite weather induced milestones recently. When it is particularly cold and snowy, the Park Service is likely to close the road until it is deemed safe. That typically makes winter hikes even more treacherous for the average park visitor, with icy conditions and an even smaller window to hike in daylight hours. All this typically means for me is that the mountain is cold (it almost always is, I get used to it), but it's also significantly quieter. This season has felt particularly active, with next to no ice and warm temperatures welcoming 'winter' hikers. Yesterday was one of the first weekend days I can recall where I was able to stroll around camp in the afternoon and all that filled my ears was the ebb and flow of the wind, the creak of tired cabins and the busy chatter of red squirrels. It is a different kind of peace without people.
5 Comments
JW
1/11/2016 10:24:24 am

Good day, glad you get to break sometimes!!lol like you need it JP we had a great hike yesterday in north ga up toour first sign of snow!! in the Cohutta Wilderness! see ya soon!

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Sheldon
1/11/2016 10:46:05 am

God intended for us to engage one another. How else will one learn about Him if not from another? But his creation, especially a winter mountain, makes it awfully tempting to forego all human contact and just enjoy the peace found nowhere else but on a snow covered trail.

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tgb link
1/11/2016 12:57:13 pm

Poor J.P.I know what broken ribs feel like.I broke two Dec.8,will be 5 wks.tue.and I'm not well yet.I have had my ankle broke on both sides surgery with a 7hole plate on one side and bolts and screws on the other and in a cast for 2mos.was on a walker with my right leg and had to learn to walk all over again and ruptured appendix and don't remember pain like this,its not funny is it?LOL

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doug y link
1/11/2016 02:23:51 pm

"John the Baptist was not more eager to get all his fellow sinners into the Jordan than I to baptize all of mine in the beauty of God's mountains." John Muir

Muir had it right. When we get closer to nature we do our overstressed brains a favor.

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norman
1/11/2016 03:44:07 pm

What 's the white sign saying on the corner of the cabin??

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