Date: 2003-05-05
From: Mollies Ridge Shelter

To: Spence Field Shelter
Miles today: 5.4
Weather: light rain

Well, so much for blue skies. We awoke to rain this morning. Pouring, storming rain. We're tough, though, and we've decided we're going to brave the storm to get some miles in. Cardinal, who was at the shelter as well, thought differently. So, as Moss, Magic Rat, and I packed up and headed out, we could hear the distant argument between Cardinal and Tito as to whether or not they were making any miles for the day. We got to the first shelter, after walking though the Devils Tater Patch, and ran in to seek refuge. We stopped just long enough to sign the register and pause for a quick breath, and decided to continue on. It was pretty chilly, and we had to keep moving in order to keep warm. As we went on, the storms grew stronger. Here we are, walking up on the tops of mountains, with gusting winds, strong, adjacent lightening, and pouring rain. We had all planned to meet up at the next shelter, Spence Field, to regroup and have lunch. I got to the sign for Spence Field, and noticed that there was, in fact, a big open field that you had to go across. 'I bet this is beautiful on a sunny day,' I thought, but was then interrupted by several blasts of lightening, with the clapping of thunder immediately following. I froze for a minute, and then sprinted off over the BIG OPEN FIELD, all the time thinking that one of those lightening bolts were going to come down and catch me. Good thing I have a wooden cane, and not aluminum Leki poles! Finally, we all reached Spence Field Shelter, and Moss and I started pulling out food. Magic Rat, who had somehow not gained 'the hunger' yet, was not hungry, and was going to crawl into his sleeping bag, while we ate, to warm up and dry off. So, Moss and I sat there, shivering and eating for a while, when Moss also decided to crawl into his sleeping bag for a bit, to warm up. For a while, I sat there, thinking that we have to make more miles for the day (it was only noon), and that I wouldn't be motivated to hike anymore if I did what the boys were doing. I stuck out the cold for a while, hoping that the rain would cease. It did not, and I progressively kept getting colder. I finally threw in the flag, as I could not take the cold anymore, and told the boys "I'm freezing, and if I take my sleeping bag out to warm up, it's over." I heard an "okay," so I threw my bag down and crawled in. The next thing I knew, it was 4 o'clock, and people were arriving at the shelter. The rain had ceased a bit, but we were still not moving. It was just too warm and comfy in our sleeping bags. We did, however, start stirring enough to cook our dinners, which was done inside the shelter area, because of the rain. Well, these weekend hikers had come in, and situated themselves on the top bunk area, just above me. They whipped out their stove and food, and started cooking...on the TOP BUNK AREA. As I watched them prepare their food, I started thinking,' what if their food starts spilling over (which is quite common)?' Of course, as soon as I started thinking this, their food starts spilling over, and I got to see, first hand, the answer to my question. Their lovely chicken and noodle medley starts dripping down on top of my sleeping bag!'This is great,' I think to myself. We're in the middle of the Smokies, one of the sections of the trail where bears are abundant, and my sleeping bag is going to smell like chicken and noodles. So, I mention to them "your food is spilling on my sleeping bag." So, they mumble something, and take control of their spillage situation. They don't apologize, mind you, or offer to clean up the mess they have made on my gear, and really don't clean up the mess that they made until they are finished eating. This, of course, allows for more food to periodically drip down on my bag, until I plugged it up with a bandana. The situation angered me, but, not wanting to make a scene, I just let it be and went to sleep for the night. The next morning, we all started getting up, and everyone started preparing their breakfast. The SAME couple, once again, started heating up coffee on the top bunk, right above me and my sleeping bag. Once again, their coffee started spilling over and dripped down, ONCE AGAIN, on my sleeping bag. At this point, I was dumbfounded. I was speechless. What could I say to these people to make them realize that they should not be doing what they are doing? How do you try to explain to them something that you already have gone over the night before, and, what's more, how can people be so inconsiderate as to keep doing the same thing, which results in soiling another person's sleeping bag???!? I then calmly told them that, once again, they were spilling things over onto my sleeping bag, and they, once again, just mumbled and moved their cookware. We were all pretty speechless, and didn't really know what to say about it. So, I quietly wrote in the register, "For those of you having to cook in the shelter because of the rain, please DO NOT cook on the top bunk, because your food may end up spilling over onto someone's bag, and you will make them bear bait!"One of my friends read the entry and giggled a bit......and with that, a trail name was born.