Felix spends Christmas 'on the trail'

Another report on Felix's trek from Maine to Georgia on the Appalachian Trail, 10 years ago.
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Ten years ago this morning I woke up to find that the temps had dropped drastically through the night. Into the lower 20s or less. This was a good thing as the mud puddle in the middle of the shelter floor had frozen and it was much easier to walk around in the shelter.(The shelters in the Smokys have a 6'xSW walking area (with 'SW'= shelter width) It was also a good thing because there usually isn't much in the way of clouds, or fog, when it's that cold. So, just after daybreak I headed
up a crunching, frozen Trail. I like crunching better than sloshing. The sky was actually clear above, and the valleys below were full of the 'smoke' that is the namesake of these mountains. At one point I saw what I thought were bobcat prints. I don't know if there are bobcats here, or not. It could have been a fox. I don't know if there are foxes here or not.

I made really good time this day. I was surprised to find the Trail crowded from Icewater Spring to Newfound Gap. It was a beautiful day. Mid-twenties and clear. I got to Mt. Collins shelter a little before 5. That shelter is a beautiful place just before sunset on a crisp, cold Christmas evening. The fire the two boys from Cincinnati had built was a beautiful thing, too. I'll never forget the one who looked at me and said "That fire'd cost you $8,000 if you bought the wood at a convenience store." I laffed then. I laff now.

I had an enjoyable evening with these two guys. They didn't necessarily practice some of the LNT techniques the way I'd have liked for them to. But, they were harmless, overall. They gave me my first-ever drink of Jaegermeister. "Nyquil from the liquor store," I call it. They also gave me hair-covered cheese and salami that I didn't want to eat but, couldn't throw away. In the dark, it all tastes the same. I smoked a cigar.