Date: 2018-06-03
From: HarveyÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Knob Overlook

To: Bryant Ridge Shelter
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: scattered clouds

Having to put on wet clothes in the morning just sucks the motivation to get out of bed right out of me. The good thing is, once they are on and I am moving they either dry quickly, or else I stop feeling that they are wet. The forecast called for rain, but the sun was doing its best to pierce the damp mist that surrounded us. The results of its efforts were beams of light that broke through both mist and canopy, and illuminated the forest floor.Some mornings the trail is criss crossed by translucent spider threads. I can¢t even imagine the feats the spiders would need to perform to stretch their webs across such a distance. Clearly they had been hard at work during the night. The prize you get for being the first person down the trail in the morning is that you get to break the cobwebs. I¢m positive that those over achieving arachnids knew it would be me coming down the trail and had sent someone to measure my height during the night and pass the information up the trail, because it seemed as though every other web made contact with my face. If the sun¢s rays were shining at just the right angle, I could see the sticky traps before I made contact with them and used my pole to part the way. But more often, I knew a web was there because it tickled my nose as I walked through it. I was headed for the shelter 2.5 miles up the trail. It was the first water source and we were completely out. I had my nose a little out of joint though because the shelter was off the trail down a blue blaze. I don¢t like doing extra miles. It would only add about a half of a mile to my day, but I still didn¢t want to do it. Not only that but Cole had the water filter and I had The purification tablets. Once I collected the water I would need to wait 30 minutes before I could drink it. I was thirsty Before the sign for the shelter came within view, something bright blue caught my eye. I couldn¢t believe it. Could it be? Yes it was!A cooler sat on the ground at the head of the blue blaze trail leading to the shelter. Inside the cooler was gator aid. I didn¢t have to walk the extra distance or wait 30 minutes after all! I came to many viewpoints along a parkway, just as we had yesterday. The clouds were clearing a bit, but still obstructed my view.A few more miles up the trail I encountered more trail magic. A woman was sitting by a road crossing with a cooler of coke and Gatorade, as well as snacks. Cole had caught up to me by then and took full advantage when instructed by the trail angel to ¢take as many as he liked¢.It turned out to be a beautiful day for hiking, sunny but not too warm. There is a woman from Germany, a few years my senior, who we have met at camp and on the trail quite a few times. Her trail name is Froulein. In the afternoon, Froulein caught up to me. I let her pass and she did, but then slowed down to about my speed. I picked up my pace a wee bit and we hiked together and chatted for a good long while. Eventually I lost my ¢umph¢ and had to stop for a rest. I don¢t mind hiking alone most of the time, but having someone other than my son to hike with and talk to was really nice for a change.Bryant Ridge Shelter is a large two story shelter thay can sleep 20 people. As soon as we arrived Cole scurried up to the second level to claim a space. About a dozen more hikers arrived but none ventured above the first level. We had the second floor all to ourselves.A section hiker named Pirate said that he would cook up some Mexican tortillas with rice and beans if he had at least two people to share it with. My hollow legged son volunteered us and so we had a  nice dinner cooked for us.During the night, lightening flashed and rain pummeled the shelter but we were safe and dry inside.