Radiosonde 17028533 recovered by T-800

Success! Got up early this morning and drove the 2.5 hrs to the Cross Mountain parking lot of the AT. Although there was about 2” of snow on the ground, the trail was still quite visible so I hiked the 2.5 miles up the mountain to the landing site. I was surprised to see so many broken and downed trees all over the trail and mountain sides, a stark reminder of hurricane Helene’s incredible destructive power. After approx. 1.5 hrs of hiking, the sonde was finally located hanging about 15’ off the ground, about 700’ down the hill off the trail. I was only able to recover the sonde, as the rest of the flight train was badly tangled in the adjacent tree tops about 50 ft. up (the remains are located at 36.45457, -81.97616). I did not see or hear anyone else while on the hike, and only had a few squirrels and Pileated Woodpeckers in the area to keep me company. So quiet and peaceful! Thanks again to everyone at the NOAA/ATDD office in Oak Ridge for hosting us!
https://sondehub.org/17028533 #radiosonde #sondeHub