Saturday morning we set out to climb Cove Mountain. This is Section 9 of of the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania. 900 feet up over 1 mile. This is one of the longest and steepest ascents of our route. This section is 14.5 miles long with several major elevation changes. When we started a light snow was falling, by the time we reached the Darlington Shelter there were several inches on the ground the temperature had dropped. The slick leaves and mud slowed our pace to a crawl. Section 9 took over 6 hours to finish. I’m looking forward to dryer days and flatter ground.