The "School House"

True to his word the NCTA representative had the door unlocked and I was able to enter the cabin. There were a lot of brochures and paraphinalia around about the NCTA and the trail itself.

When I entered the foyer I stripped off my pack, raingear and boots. The furnace was set to go on as soon as I moved the thermometer up a few degrees. They even had a couple of fruit cups and a bottle of beer for me. I scrounged up a little cheese and sausage snack and made a pot of coffee.

The furnace unit and blower was in the kitchen area and I was able to begin the drying out process of my clothes and equipment as I was snacking and making the coffee. I was pleased to be out of the wet cold.

Sometimes when you get chilled to the bone it seems impossible to get warm again. Even with my high tolerance for temperature extremes today's hike chilled me through and through. Drying out, a hot shower, clothes drying and put back on did little to warm me. Of course the heat and shelter kept me from getting worse.

I had a good signal so I was able to talk to Diane and work on this journal. I think I entered three days worth of my adventure that evening and the next morning. I was trying very hard to keep myself busy in an attempt to ignore my physical exhastion and the chill I could not shake.

My sleeping bag being damp was a major concern so I made a strong effort to dry it first and succeeded. I knew it would help me to warm up. A warm room and a sleeping bag zipped up should have done the trick and did seem to work nicely.

When everything was close to being dry and hanging near the furnace I put the sleeping bag on a folded table and went to sleep. I was comfortable this night.