13.5 Miles including Clingman's Dome
This morning I woke up to snow on the ground and more snow flurries all around. It was cold. And it was beautiful. The day hikers who had warned me about the storm had also told me that I could get off trail at Clingman's Dome. Clingman's Dome is the highest point on the A.T. and is a major tourist attraction. What they didn't tell me was that it is closed in the winter to car traffic. This made it really cool to see, because the only people who can see it in the winter have to hike to it. But it also meant that when I got to Clingman's Dome it was obvious that I wasn't going to get a ride to town like I had hoped. Instead I had to hike another 4.5 miles to the next shelter.
Jack Rabbit left very early this morning, and I left the shelter before Chapin Lara, so I hiked alone until Clingman's Dome. There Chapin Lara caught up to me and we agreed to stick together until we arrived at the shelter. I am very thankful for this because we finished the last two miles in the dark and it was very slippery and a little bit scary. Chapin Lara fell and broke his trekking pole, so I lent him one of mine until we reached the shelter. It was snowing so much that it was difficult to see with our headlamps. Chapin Lara ran out of water, so he drank some of mine. Eventually, at 8:15, we arrived at Mt. Collins shelter to find Jack Rabbit there and comfortably asleep. It really helped today to have his footprints to follow to stay on the trail.
The ice formations when I woke up this morning were absolutely breathtaking. All day I thought of the quote one of my friends has in her e-mail signature- "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." More than once I found myself moaning from the absolute beauty around me.
Ice formations on a twig and leaves
Trail
The white at the bottom of the frame are other iced trees, beyond that the dark is mountains, the lighter blue is clouds, then the sky at the top of the frame.
View from Clingman's Dome-the Highest Point on the A.T.
Clingman's Dome. There is a parking area 1/2 a mile away down a paved sidewalk, so this whole part of the park is wheelchair accessible, which is pretty cool.
Trail
View from the A.T.
Icy trail coming down from Clingman's Dome.
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