So, it's 2016 and I decided I was definitely gonna do this thing. Our plan was to start doing an overnight trip every month, beginning in March, and by 2017 we'd start doing two weekends a month and increasing our miles so that we could comfortably do 10 to 15 mile days. General advice for thru hikers is to start the thru doing 8 or 10 mile days, and build on that to more like 15 to 20 miles a day as your legs adapt and you find your rhythm. I felt being able to put two 15 mile days together on a weekend would put me in a better spot to hit 10 miles daily out of the gate, again, I'm a slow hiker and don't want to count on my ever really pulling off multiple consecutive 20 mile days.
We are centrally located in Tennessee surrounded by good hiking, including a reasonable drive for a weekend in the Smokies. But, it being March and still pretty chilly, South to Georgia where it might be a bit warmer seemed like the logical first choice.
A name like Cloudland Canyon seems destined for a story, and so it is a little part of this bigger tale. I chose light and easy to measure my strength. First a short little day hike without packs as a warm up, then a one mile jaunt into the woods to camp. The site was picturesque: fir and rhododendron, a stream, and a great stone lined fire ring. There was even a picnic table and a pit toilet. We spent the evening reading outloud by the firelight.
The night turned out to be a lot harder than I expected. We had just upgraded our old standard very basic rectangular sleeping bags, purchased years ago at walmart. The two new bags weighed less and took up less room together than one of the old ones. They were three season bags, and were rated down to 40 degrees for comfort or 30 degrees overall. They were more of the tappered mummy bag style, although far from the high end ultralight options, and the filling was polyfil vs. warmer down. We were unlucky in that temps were dropping right to freezing that night, even though daytime temperatures were reasonable. I had never slept in a mummy style bag.
At first, everything was fine. I slept on my side, face partially turned down the edge of the bag helping to trap heat near my face. But in the course of the night I turned to the other side, and the bag twisted around my torso. I couldn't get it to cover my head the same way, but I fell asleep again. I woke up cold a while later. I had tossed more in my sleep, and now the bag was wrapped too tightly around me. I struggled a bit. I stilled myself and reached for the zipper. I could not pull it down. I thrashed. I am not clausterphobic. I sort of liked to crawl into small spaces as a kid, and I still find it comforting. But in this moment I was clausterphobic. I felt trapped. I tried hard to stay calm, telling myself I wouldn't die. I shimmied some more, tugging at the zipper. I was afraid I was going to break it in my panic. Fortunately, I was not alone. I kicked to my left, waking my husband. "Help", I hissed. I tried to lay still as he worked at the zipper. And then I was free.
So, these bags could be zipped together. I had thought separate would be better for warmth, but after my panic, we zipped them together, and I found out I was wrong about that. We stayed cozy and I had the extra leeway I needed to sleep on myside without getting trapped. All was well; I slept and did not die.
In the morning, we broke camp and returned the larger pack to the car. With the other to share between us, we embarked on the Bear Trace Trail. I carried the pack for the first half, and Jake for the second. It was a short start, but it felt hard, and I was tired at the end of the day. But we were one day closer to our goal!
That's enough for now. Thursday I will share about this weekend hiking some more AT miles, and will have more about our "years of planning and prepping" in future posts! If you have asked a question, I will get to some of those soon, too. Thanks!
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