DANGER was ever present, and COLD would be my constant companion for the day; especially since I believed what the weather people said and intentionally left my coat at home!

I was on the trail at 8:00am and it was icy and snow was light on the ground, but otherwise quite pleasant up to the Bluffs, however, above the Bluffs was a different story altogether! The snow was almost knee deep in some places and under that, the ice awaiteth! The trekking was slow and labored, and there had only been about 2 beings up the trail this morning! (and one of them had funny looking tracks).  Just the task of picking up my foot out of the snow and taking a step forward became my enemy. (what have I signed up for?).  The cables were only good for pulling one's seemingly lifeless body (legs dragging, useless behind) up and over the sharp ice covered rocks! It took me over 3 hours to reach the summit, and I headed straight for the Lodge office to warm myself by the gas heater! From there, I trampled up to the LeConte Shelter to "service" the campsite, and then back down to the Lodge office to offer more prayers at the alter of the heat God! After I regained the feeling in my feet, I tackled the descent!

About a third of a mile down the trail from the top, I came across some clothes and a tarp stuffed in a rock crevasse. The clothes had been soaking wet, but were now frozen stiff. I gathered and rolled them up in the tarp, then cut a small opening near the top to make a handle. With one hand firmly gripping my newly modified "spiked" litter stick, (with spike safety tip cover and one-handed litter extraction mechanism), and the other, now occupied with the abandoned remains, of what most of us in the hiking community would consider "critical gear",  all rolled up in a tarp, I continued down the trail, at some disadvantage, looking like I was carrying a dead body. As I encountered anxious hikers along the way, most were quick to inquire about the suspicious rolled up tarp I was struggling with. My answer was always the same, "Oh, my girlfriend always wants to go hiking with me, but she just can't keep her mouth shut, so I told her, if she wanted to go today, that I was going to take the brown tarp out of the garage and stuff her in it - if I heard one word out of her on the trail!" (the men always howled; the women did not!) Note: if you find all of my clothes abandoned in 2 feet of snow, at 6,000 feet and 3 degrees temperature, I've lost my freakin mind and am probably DEAD! (so I spent a little while looking for the bodies that once occupied the clothing, but to no avail).

Arriving at the Bluffs, now focused on getting to my car at the trailhead (with the 25 pound cumbersome tarp of frozen clothes), I passed a large boulder, that I was certain had said, "can you pass the orange juice please". Now thinking that the cold had taken it's toll on me, I wasn't about to turn around and talk to a rock, however, they were having orange juice! Luckily, it was two older ladies sitting behind a rock, trying to get out of the wind, and have a little lunch; no way to see them while going down the trail without stopping and looking back up.

About 4:30pm, I slid out of the woods and flung myself into my car! "What a day", I said! Guess now I'll have to add some ice-skates to my gear collection! My legs were cramping from all the extra work and I had a throbbing headache that wouldn't budge!

On the way home, I saw about a hundred cars all over the road, and immediately knew what it was. So, I got out my camera and took some pics of the bears beside the road! (cute little devils!)

I made it to Park Headquarters, where I dumped the tarp in the big canister, and briefly spoke with "Barbette" about the condition of the shelter and trail today.

I can't wait to do it all again next week!

Glen Weatherly