Date: 2004-04-20
From: Rice Field Shelter

To: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter
Miles today: 12.3
Weather: overcast clouds

Today was rather uneventful. The day was so boring I considered not even writing a journal entry. Today I almost got struck by lightning, inches away from being mauled by a bear, trampled by deer, and drowned in a stream crossing. Oh and the shelter was half in flames. First off the lightning was close, but I was chillin about 5 feet from the trail under a nice rock overhang before the rain hit. Watched the rain pass over while listening to the radio, lounging on my pack and sipping cold water. Granted if that rock overhang was not there I could have been in real danger caused by lightning because I was on top of a high ridge. Funny how that always happens. So there I was trucking along and what do I see 100 yards down below the ridge in the brush? A BEAR! Not only a bear, but a bear with a cub. When I approached there was movement and sound that caught my attention, then saw it. At first glance it appeared to be a dog. Next the cub came into view. The larger bear stopped, looked at me for ten seconds, and then took off down the hill. I tried to get a picture, but the brush was in the way. Oh so cool. Saw 4 deer today, they ran off at first, and then just kinda looked at me and then continued to graze. Then there was a second storm that came through. Looked for a rock overhang since the ridge I was still on was even higher in elevation now. The thunder increased and so did my heart rate. The best I found was a little rock ledge with a very limited canopy. This ledge was just wide enough to keep my pack from falling off. The overhang was too close to my head to sit up. So I ended up holding myself on the ledge with my left leg wedged in a rock to keep me from falling off. It was quite a sight to see. Not the least bit comfortable. By the point it was raining hard and soaked the right half of my body. Then the breeze kicked in and it was down right freezing. The thunder and lightning had passed so the decision to move on was made. Guess it was fate that I was suposed to get wet today :-) Once moving again everything warmed up and it was not so bad, wet but bearable. Ha, get it... bearable...bear-able... :-) Crossed a stream just before the shelter and got my feet wet, no biggie - they were already drenched from the torrential downpour. Moonpie had a fire going at the shelter and was drying out from the storms. We were planning on making it to the next shelter, but it was just too late in the day. The thunderstorms also killed some hiking time. Bet I spent an hour off the trail waiting for the lightning to pass. That could have been three miles of walking. Oh yeah, the shelter did not catch fire, but we did gather mass amounts of wood and have been keeping it stocked. The fire is such a comfortable feeling. While hiking on the ridge either a F-16 or a F-14 flew right over my head. This plane was close!   Could see the fins on the back of the plane. The first time it flew over it completely caught me by surprise. It sounded like a close lightning strike. No sonic boom, but still very impressive. The second time it buzzed the mountain it came in on its side cutting across the mountain directly above my head. At this point I was ready and snapped a picture. It then rolled back on its belly and flew off into the distance out of sight. It did not return again.Have considered shipping my ham radio back. The charger is huge and I have only talked to a few people. The weather band is very handy, but is useless. We will be hiking regardless of the weather. We just don't have the time to sit around and watch the rain fall and collect outside the shelter. Besides most of the weather forecast is listed by county. I¢ve got no clue what county we are in so it¢s hard to know which forecast is for our area. If I do ship the ham radio home I will pick up a small pair of computer speakers and possibly a small battery charger for towns. That would save some weight for sure. It¢s been a lot of fun and a nice end to the day listening to music at night in the shelter. It¢s going to be an early rise tomorrow, no sleeping in, that¢s for sure. Oh one last thing, thanks everyone for your guestbook entries, and emails. I am trying to respond back to all of them, but do understand that I don't have a lot of free time. That sounds strange I know, but most of the day is spent hiking, eating, and sleeping while on the trail. When in towns, free time is even more rare. Time is spent shopping, doing laundry, eating at all you can eat buffets, sorting, drying, and fixing gear. Any extra time is spent napping under a nice shade tree. So I will get back to ya, I promise!