March 5

Last  night  was  the  coldest and longest night camping  in the  woods  of my  life.   A hand full  of hikers  decided  to push on after  hearing  the  weather  reports at Neels gap; I was one of them, and the forecast  proved  true.  I hiked seven  miles up and over mountain tops through freezing  rain  and torential winds that seemed  to reach  near hurricane  spreeds.  All of my gear and outerwear held up fine. I spent the  night at a shelter  with two  other brave souls.  Every layer  of clothing  I had  was on my body.  I was a prisoner  held up in my  sleeping bag  in a corner of a three sided  shelter  with winds howling  into  the night.  Any part of me that came into contact with the outside air seemed to instantly  freeze.  Buried  deep  within  my bag I was  at least  warm.  This  morning, at 5am, I checked  my thermometer  on my  backpack, it was at -5 below!  My water bottle and pee bottle are both frozen solid.  I'm  going  to slowly  allow  the sun to at least  raise  the temperature into the teens before venturing  out.  The wind this  morning  has  died  but it is bitterly  cold. I will  continue  my hike as  soon as I'm  thawed  out, and have  had a hot drink and eaten  something.