Day 26. Pecks Corner Shelter to Cosby Knob Shelter

Last night at 0200 the snow began to fall... I awoke to a snow covered tent and 16 degrees. It was difficult getting out of my warm sleeping bag. At 0800 I packed up my gear, had a nice frozen Pop Tart breakfast and hit the trail. It was bitter cold trekking the exposed snow covered ridge lines. The views and vistas were amazing. The Smoky Mountains are truly an American treasure.

I hiked with How Bout most of the day. We stopped at the Tri Corner Knob shelter for a hot lunch. Tragically, less than two months ago, a man was found dead here from apparent hypothermia. The shelter is the most remote in the Park. God bless his soul and his family.

I reached the Cosby Knob Shelter at 1730. The shelter is full again with thru and section hikers, but I was able to squeeze in. Rash, Julia, How Bout and Collin are here also. We all started our adventure on the same day in February. Amazingly we have paced ourselves pretty close. After a hot dinner, I climbed into my bag and reflected on my days thoughts...

Today was one of the coldest days since starting the adventure. However the scenery and my thoughts kept the weather at bay... Tomorrow I will reach the northern most boundary of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park completing the 72 mile section. I hope one day to return here in the spring or summer months to see the foliage and wild flowers.

The plan for tomorrow is to reach the Standing Bear Farm Hostel 11 miles north. A shower is in order... Trust me.

Today I hiked 13.4 miles in bitter cold conditions, but every mile was worth the suffering.

So far I have hiked 230.1 miles !!!