Day 16 - Wednesday, March 3, 2021


Today’s forecast is for spring like conditions with bright sun all day and a high near 60°. This should melt most if not all the remaining snow there is in the area. I will be adjusting my layers to accommodate the warmer temperatures - wearing one of my short sleeve polypropylene shirts for the afternoon. We woke up to a temperature of 34°.

Today we are hiking from  Signal Knob - VA 638 - Fire Trail Road  (988.4 NoBo) to CCC Road (975.3 NoBo) which is 13.1 miles. Our hikes are now getting longer to accommodate the parking as well as access to Skyline Drive which is somewhat limited along the AT and Skyline Drive. 

We started hiking at 8:40 am. 





Hiking conditions are near perfect except for a little mud.


A little more American history... 


You even have to yield to CSX on the Appalachian Trail. 



Lunch time and putting on a fresh pair of socks. 




We thought the snow was gone until you start gaining elevation. We hit this snow around 1800 FT. 



Practicing  our rock scrambles across the stream.

We finished hiking at 4:35 pm. Today was a great day to hike. Even though it hit 57° the wind stayed cool blowing across the cold ground and snow pack (Mother Nature’s air conditioning) and I never did get down to my short sleeve mid layer. Warmer days are coming which will wake the forest up with its foliage and black flies. The warmer weather also brings out more hikers. We expect to start encountering waves of NoBo Thru Hikers in a couple weeks.

Till next time... Happy Hiking 🥾 

😋


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