SNOW in mid April in Southern VA??? Mt Rogers NRA Headquarters, Partnership shelter, Pizza delivery. Brushy Mt.

Snow was falling when I woke up. The thermometer was reading 18 degrees. It was peaceful, serene and uniquely beautiful. The forsythia was a blend of yellow and white. Everything was so still. No birds singing, no flies or bees buzzing. No sound at all. Just the beautiful, chilling silence of the snow covered wilderness.

Another thing that helped me survive, endure and even enjoy the unexpected cold, wet weather was dry feet and boots. I learned the hard way the importance of dry feet on my first hike (Pennsylvania, Spring 1999). I had ample socks (3 pair of Thorlos and three pair of poly sock liners) to ward off blisters and have clean socks to change into to protect a hikers most important body part - his feet. I had leather boots (cheap, made in China solid leather uppers) treated with the worlds best boot waterproofing: "Snow Proof". I saturated my boots before leaving home, giving them the warm oven treatment twice, then carried about an ounce of extra Snow Proof and got another ounce with each mail drop. That was a key factor in keeping my boots and feet dry. That and being extra careful at all stream crossings and water sources, being less of a klutz than I was in the past. Dry feet helped me persevere in the face of intolerable weather.

I planned my AT hiking in the spring and fall to avoid the heat, leaves and bugs of summer and the cold of winter. But, here I was on a winter hike. I had two choices: Go on and deal with it or quit and go back home early. Knowing it could, and probably would get worse, I decided to push on. It was no fun hiking with a hood up, blocking your hearing and side vision. But it was necessary, unless you happened to enjoy frequent bouts of snow being dumped down the back of your neck from low hanging branches and brush along the trail. Staying dry was essential, not a luxury, especially at these temperatures.

I hiked the ridges and crests of Brushy Mountain in winter conditions. There was 2 to 4 inches of snow on the ground, drifted on the ridge to around 8 inches in some places, blown clear on others. It was not difficult terrain; the weather was the only challenge. It was at times very difficult to make out the trail and or the blazes in this vast white wonderland.

Snow-covered Appalachian Trail. Yes, its mid-April in Southwestern Virginia.

It was nice to hike into the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area (NRA) Headquarters. It had a heated building open to the public with several nice displays related to Mt Rogers and the AT. Nearby was Partnership Shelter, a lavish two-story affair complete with shower and wash tub with heated water. A payphone was outside the main building. The shower was frozen but the washtub was operational. I washed my dirty hiking clothes and myself, hanging the quick-dry clothes on a line in front of the shelter to dry. They immediately froze solid. I moved them into the shelter where they remained frozen.

Harry Carey caught up with me. We ordered pizza delivered to the main gate and I ordered a tuna sub for tomorrow's breakfast. We thoroughly enjoyed the warm pizza, some soda from the main building and a hot cup of tea. Bedtime, I pulled my tent over my sleeping bag again and managed to sleep warm enough.