Day 9

Early this morning the weather changed. The shelter that was 2 miles off the trail was directly in the wind. Cold wind.  The temp must have been around 30 but the wind chill was unbelievably cold. I finally got out of my sleeping bag about 9:40.  Put everything up resupplied my water

And started the 2mile hike to get back on the trail. About a mile down the trail I reached hogpen gap. This is a point of no return.  There are no exit points from the trail from this point until Hiawassee ga ., which is the next town. It is here that I will temporarily end my hike.  The weather is expected to turn worse with 2" of snow or ice expected at lower elevations below 2600 feet.  My elevation is nearly 4000 feet.  With at least freezing rain coming I have opted to wait for spring to continue.  I will return to the trail  as soon as warmer weather comes and pick up where I left off. Hiking in these conditions zap the enjoyment right out of you.  I know there are some younger people that I have met who are continuing to hike on and I wish them safe travels.  As for me a I am taking a couple of weeks off the trail.