Date: 2015-04-20
From: Muskrat Creek Shelter, NC

To: Carter Gap Shelter, NC
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: light rain

Day 8 - Almost no rain the whole day, after thunder and downpours during the night. Extra glad now that I didn't move on when the rain had stopped. Did have one brief shower with hail or sleet mixed in with the rain. We're hiking up over 4,000 feet high if that makes a difference. The footpath was soaked and muddy what with all the rain that's been coming down.Didn't see many people out on the Trail today except the newlyweds Sam and Sarah who were at the shelter last night. We leapfrogged a few times and they ended up tenting here at the shelter. I'm in the hammock and wondering whether I tied on the rain fly correctly. It seems a little loose and flappy in the wind, so I hope we don't get tonight's predicted rain. I've taped up my toes to prevent blisters - a real possibility after walking in wet shoes and socks for a week - and will retape them in the morning. And my phone's recharging off the battery. Connectivity seems a little sketchy, as I could text Ann but not Tweet or Instagram.Tomorrow we pass the 100 mile mark on top of a mountain that's supposed to have a fire tower and nice view. Hoping for better cell service there. And no rain.At one point earlier on today I stopped to take off my sweater. Leaned my trekking poles up against a signboard, and hung my Concordia cap on the sign. The rain shower started a little ways after I started up again. Which was when I discovered that I was hatless. I was quite sure my hat was hanging back at the sign, so I dropped my pack by the side of the Trail and ran back to get it. It was maybe a quarter mile each way, but I recovered the cap. And the rain was just stopping as I re-shouldered my pack. So it was a providential kind of rain for me.Here at the shelter tonight is a woman named "Wood" who carries a bear canister; a guy sporting painted toenails who goes by the name "Toes"; the guy from the hotel and last night's shelter whose name I've completely forgotten; the honeymooners; and me. And most of us are in tents or hammocks rather than sleeping in the shelter itself. Shelters provide a place to cook and eat, a spring or water source, a privy, and someone to talk to if you want. And a known location. It's easier to keep track of miles or estimate ahead when you are at a known and measured spot.I have 3 days of about 14 miles each to get to the N.O.C. where I'll pick up a couple days' worth of food that will take me to Fontana and the Smokies. So I'll be in the Smokies at weekend. To me that's almost 'known trail' since I have backpacked a weekend in the Park (oh ... several decades ago, shortly before getting my first call into ministry from the Seminary). And on the maps the Smokies are almost up to Shenandoah National Park which I hiked in a week last summer. But aside from that everything we've walked so far has seemed very familiar either from Shenandoah, or New York, or Pennsylvania, or elsewhere I've already hiked on the AT. I'm supposing I'll be able to keep up, and that by the time I'm back in Pennsylvania and New York will be able to do big mile days.This morning my clothes were still wet from yesterday's rain, but the shirt and pants dried out pretty well as I walked. Socks and shoes are a slightly different matter. They started to dry out eventually but are still damp. Maybe tomorrow. If there's sun.(averaging 11.73 miles per day -- yes, I'll take those hundredths!)