Here we go!

Well, I made one last trip tonight to get some food/gear for Friday's adventure. At the grocery store I bought a large pack of peanut M&M's and Reeses Cups and at Appalachian Outfitters I bought some more Clif Shot Bloks, foot & hand warmers that last 5+ hours, wind/waterproof matches, and a 2-person survival blanket that folds up nice and small. Hopefully I won't have to use any of this emergency gear but I figured it's better to have it just in case. One reason I bought some of this extra stuff is because the weather forecast continues to get colder each time I look at it. As of now, here is what the national weather service is saying for Seven Springs, PA (the highest point of the Laurel Highlands trail):

Thursday: Periods of snow, mainly before 1pm. High near 33. West wind between 13 and 18 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.
Thursday Night: Periods of snow showers. Low around 25. Breezy, with a west wind between 20 and 22 mph, with gusts as high as 33 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches possible.
Friday: Snow showers likely. Cloudy, with a high near 31. Breezy, with a west wind between 20 and 22 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Friday Night: A slight chance of snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 22. West wind between 10 and 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Note: Bob and Bill will begin running Thursday morning, with the rest of the group including me (7 or 8 others) starting on Friday morning. The only good thing about the forecast is it looks like we'll only have to worry about snow and not rain with high temperatures around the freezing mark. During our run you can check out these mountain cams at the Seven Springs Resort.

Jim will be picking me up in Warren at 3pm tomorrow to drive over to Johnstown, PA. Once there we'll be spending the night at an Econolodge and then we'll wake up to begin running at sunrise. I will try to post a report on here when I get back home on Saturday...