Date: 2004-05-23
From: Little laurel Shelter

To: Jerry's Cabin Shelter
Miles today: 6.8
Weather: light rain

Little Laurel Shelter @ 1000 Finish: Jerry¢s Cabin Shelter @ A little past noonMiles: 6.8Weather: Rainy, turned to thunderstorms, sunny/stormy.Breakfast: Vanilla CIB, Chocolate Poptarts.Lunch: Turkey Trail Dinner, 2 snickers, Oat n' Honey, water.Dinner: n/aTrail Conditions: Very grassy making boots wet. Very rocky along ridge line.Animals: Birds, Centipede, Snail, Turkey, Dogs.People: Dayhikers, Section hikers, Andy/Aaron/Jacob, Rev. Yukon Jack, Postcard, Carp, Marty & Cheryl, Pop-up.I rolled out of the sack around 0800. It was my first night sleeping in only my bivy and silk liner. I was perfectly warm. After the big storm we got no further rain at night. It started raining heavily at 0900. I was only planning on 12 miles, so a late start was okay. I stuck around until 1000 to see if Smack or Carp would show and let the rain slow a bit. Neither showed so I pushed out into the rain. Jacob had a spare trash bag he gave me for use as a pack cover (I didn¢t have one last night and all my stuff was soaked).The day began with a steep climb. Even though I had a decent breakfast I was already hungry quickly from my big miles the day before. I plugged along and the rain stopped briefly. I parked it for a few on a rock out-cropping, ate a snickers, and watched clouds from the valley get sucked up into the storm clouds above. I pushed on and the sun peeked out, although ominous clouds were still in the distance. The moment of truth came when I made it to the section of exposed ridgeline. There was the AT that went across the top and an alternate trail for use in bad weather. Not wanting to miss out I took the ridgeline. About 5 minutes onto the ridge the sun disappeared and thunder clouds starting rumbling and moving overhead. I said to myself ¢F___, not again¢, and ran/scrambled over these enormous rock piles as the thunder drew closer. I made it across the ridgeline and back into the woods. The winds picked up to powerful gusts, temperatures dropped, rain fell sideways, and I found myself walking in a thunder cloud as lighting flashed and thunder rolled. I threw out prayers endlessly. I was running with my pack on. I was totally exhausted. My legs were cramping, I was dehydrated, in calorie deficit. My boots were weighed down with water making every step harder than the last. The thunder was blasting and lighting was flashing. I was so exhausted and fatigued all I wanted to do is quit and fall over on the muddy trail. I kept moving and finally after about 30 minutes of being in the midst of the storm I made it to the shelter. I came running in and nearly collapsed of fatigue. Postcard and Rev. Yukon Jack were there to greet me.I was so tired I didn¢t want to press on. The sun peeked through so I started drying my clothes in the afternoon. RYJ pushed on, Postcard and I decided not to, as thunder could be heard in the distance in all directions. I don¢t need to press my luck any more. Carp, Cheryl & Marty stopped by and pushed on into distant storms. I hope they¢re okay.The shelter is filling up now for the night. Smack and Belle should be showing up shortly. I am going to cook up a second dinner tonight and keep pushing the fluids. Tomorrow will be a 14 miler or 20 plus depending on how the weather is. Hopefully I don¢t become a human lighting rod once more.One Year Reflection