We had a few hikes in mind; unfortunately we were limited a little bit - the Chimney Tops were closed and the road to Clingman's Dome was still closed for the winter. On Friday, we decided to hike to the Jump-Off. The first part of this hike is the same hike that goes to Charlie's Bunion, the hike that we did last year on Black Friday. One thing we weren't prepared for: SNOW!
It was so cold, and actually quite icy in places. We definitely weren't wearing the most appropriate shoes. We were both slipping and sliding all over the place. We debated turning around several different times, but decided to keep on going. And then we made it! The views were gorgeous!
We were really nervous up there -- we were right there on the edge of the cliff and it was so snowy & icy. It would have been so easy to fall! Brent did not appreciate me standing so close to the edge in the photo above.
It was so slick & scary on the way back. There were a few times when I just sat down & slid down the ice. Much better than falling! It look a long time navigating the trail, trying to step where others people had stepped or in the dry/muddy places. I was so relieved to be back on dry ground. Unfortunately, there was a casualty on this trip. Brent was carrying the camera in his backpack and actually fell off a rock straight on his back, breaking the camera. So that was pretty sad, but we did get lots of use out of it...it was probably about time to replace it anyway. :-(
We were so happy to get back to the car and out of our wet, muddy clothes. We also made a mental note for next time - must invest in some trekking poles and crampons for snowy winter hikes!
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