Soft Serve is already awake and is almost packed up. I am so impressed by the size of her pack. She really is a minimalist. She sleeps on a short sleeping pad and uses her pack liner around her feet for a vapor barrier to provide more warmth. She sleeps on her stuff sack with clothes inside as a pillow. I've tried that and it doesn't work for me, but maybe I should rethink my sleeping pad if I'm going to be sleeping in shelters more often. Every time I think I have everything dialed in and it's perfect my brain thinks there's a better way to do it.
I tried to pack up quietly but Overdone says "If you're trying to be quiet on my account don't worry about it because I'm awake."
Alright then! I start shoving things in my pack without regard to noise.
Soft Serve shoulders her pack and says her farewell. She is really excited to get to that hostel and get a shower and some free dinner tonight.
I pull out a bunch of morning snacks, but not enough for the entire day because I plan on shelter-hopping today in the rain. I say happy trails to Overdone. It's about 6:20 am when I hit the trail myself.
There's not much to report on today's hiking because I have my field of vision mostly covered by my umbrella in the pouring rain all day, but a few miles after I leave the shelter I cross a large stream via a bridge and arrive at Old Forge Park. The park is cute with several small picnic pavilions next to towering trees and a bathroom facility. I stop under the cover of a pavilion to pull out and eat my first snacks. When I try to find the trail again, I get lost. Overdone emerges from the direction I came out, and he, too, is lost. We walk together a short distance on the road from Old Forge Park to the next AT crossing, which only takes 7 or 8 minutes, when we spot the next white blaze.
Overdone passes me on the climb from Old Forge Park. He is eager to get to the next big road crossing, where he is getting picked up by his brother who lives nearby and who will get him out of the rain for a few much needed zero days.
The trail passes Tumbling Run Shelters, and although it's only been less than an hour since my last snack, I decide to stop for lunch because this place is the Ritz-Carlton of shelters right here. Signs on each shelter identifies one for snorers and the other shelter for non-snorers.
There is a newly painted picnic table under a newly painted gazebo. A fake rose sits in the middle of the table. Maybe I amb just to long in the woods, but I think it's the perfect touch.
In front of the shelters are big fire pits set flush into the ground with another fire pit a little closer to the trail. Clotheslines are on big metal poles behind each of the shelters. And not only is there a designated tenting area, but there's also a designated hammock area! This place is so delightful!
I stop and pull off my pack. There are three people inside this shelter when I arrive and two of them come out at different times to say hello. One is named Ghost Dog. He is thru hiking and he's planning on doing 24 miles today.
I reluctantly finish my salmon wrap and get going up a really big hill. The rain is really coming down now. Four thru hikers pass me and I really hope there comes a day where I can plow up a big hill like they are doing now.
Near the top, a southbound section hiker approaches me and we talk for a few minutes. Nobody is very eager to stop for very long and chat because of the rain, myself included.
The next few hours is pretty much just a rainy slog up and down hills. I near the Rocky Mountain Shelters but it's 0.3 miles down a side trail and I don't feel like bonus miles today. I do need to stop and eat, but with the rain I just keep going because I don't want deal with it. The trail just after the shelters turns into a jumble of rocks for a couple hundred feet.
I start to bonk about a mile from the last shelter because I haven't fueled myself appropriately in this rain. I really need to stop and take care of myself, but it's just so hard to do when you're getting slapped in the face with rain all day long.
I take off my pack and eat a snack and drink a bunch of water and just chill for a few minutes. I'm feeling a little better as I head into Caledonia State Park. I think I need to stop here for a while if i can get out of the rain and eat a more substantial lunch.
After crossing a stream that's the size of a small river with all the rain, I stop In the first pavilion I come to. I go to work on some cheese, sausage, and crackers, all the while watching a very industrious chipmunk zigzagging back and forth across the cement floor of the pavilion and between the picnic tables.
I'm really enjoying being out of the rain and wind, but I'm getting cold from being wet and sitting still. Feeling significantly improved after a rest and the nourishment, I start the climb out of Caledonia to the next shelter. I've done this hike many times before, as this is the way I used to hike into the annual MAHHA hammock hang at Pine Grove furnace State Park. A sign attached to the AT sign depicts a black diamond and states this trail is a "most difficult," endeavor.
Other than the steep initial climb, the rest of the trail is rather easy. At four o'clock the trail takes a short final climb, and a hike through a mystical rhododendron tunnel, and I emerge at Quarry Gap Shelter. I take off my pack and leave it at the picnic table under the cover of the shelter roof while I filter some water from the spring just feet from the shelter. I am alone at the shelter, which feels weird, because this is a very popular destination for hikers on the trail.
This shelter is also two small shelters, but they are connected by a covered breezeway with a picnic table underneath. A large tarp covers the back of the breezeway, providing shelter from the wind and rain. The thing that sets Quarry Gap apart from other shelters is the whimsy which the caretakers have decorated the shelter area. Hanging baskets of flowers dot the shelter area, and little gnomes and animal sculptures are hidden around the grounds.
I drink a big cup of water while I'm pondering what to do. I've done 16 miles, and I was planning on staying here, but now I feel so refreshed from the earlier snacks and brief rest that I should keep going. Plus, it's early to stop, and if I stop now I have to do more than 17 miles tomorrow.
On the other hand, I don't know when this rain is going to end. And if it's raining in the morning, it will take me a while to break down my camp. That's time I could spend hiking. If I stay here I can go to bed really early and get up really early. The fact that I really adore this shelter seals the deal.
I get set up in a corner of the righthand shelter and make my dinner. I see that I have I have a weak cell phone signal but I am able to place a call home. I tell my husband the plan and then set to eating dinner.
I am literally choking down my dinner. I need the calories and the sustenance, but I just want to go to sleep; I am so freaking tired, but it's only 5:30 pm and I need to stay up a little longer.
For the next hour I work on my blog and try to come up with a game plan for repositioning the truck. I send some text messages and call home to say goodnight.
My husband's shocked by the early time, but I tell him it doesn't matter because I'm so exhausted I can barely keep my eyes open. I say goodnight and I'm out like a light.
Today's Stats: 15.8 miles, 2,533 feet gain, 2,434 feet loss
Trail Stats: 1088 miles, 235K feet gain, 240K feet loss
No comments :
Post a Comment