Date: 2003-06-04
From: Harpers Creek Shelter

To: Humpback Mountain
Miles today: 16.0

The weather this morning was tentative. It was certainly brighter than yesterday, a good sign. It was much warmer as well. Could we dare hope for nice weather? We waited for the sun to make an appearance, but it just couldn't break through the cloud cover. Just as well, we don't like to be too warm.   The profile map showed our first three miles to be just about straight up as we climbed the Three Ridges. Prepared for the worst, we set out.   Immediately we were glad the sun wasn't out. We were in a warm fog. Actually, we thought we should be sitting on a wooden bench wrapped in white turkish towels. It was a sauna. The climb wasn't so bad--lots of rock steps. At the top we stopped for a look at the view. We had climbed right through the clouds. The sun was shining and the blanket of clouds covered everything below. There was a lone mountain peaking through the layer. As we enjoyed our second breakfast the clouds moved in over us again. Strange weather.  We stopped at the next shelter for lunch. There was a group of octogenarians there taking a break. They are from Charlottesville and have been hiking together for 17 years. They've even traveled to Scotland and Switzerland together to hike. How inspiring! To be so healthy, active, and happy at their age.   The profile map indicated the next part of the Trail was a nice stretch of small ups and downs--basically level. What it failed to show was all the loose, slippery rocks we'd be contending with all day. The steep climb was easier. At least it wasn't raining.   After grumbling about the local ATC placing the rocks there, we decided that would have been too much work for them. God must have put them there. We felt that rather than complaining about them, we should pray for protection from falling--especially after it started to rain a little. Might call it an attention getter.  The next shelter was 16 miles away, so we knew we'd be camping somewhere at the top of Humpback Mountain. We'd have to carry water up the mountain. We had just about reached the spring we the sky opened up and let loose. In minutes the Trail became a rushing torrent again. Just our luck, the brown water was flowing into the spring. Yuck! We did our best to capture clean spring water before it mixed in with the dirty water. It wasn't great, but it would have to do. As it turned out, there was another spring up the Trail--with no runoff draining into it. Much better.  As we neared the top of the mountain, the Trail split. To the right was a big pile of rocks...surely not the Trail. To the left was a nice trail through the woods and around the rocks...without any white blazes. But from there you could see a blaze...on the darned rocks. Yes indeed, the local AT Club really did want us to climb the big pile of rocks, in the rain, with heavy packs on. Of course, being the darned purists that we are, we climbed them. We do feel obliged to send a note to the AT Club.   Despite the rock section, the rest of Humpback wasn't bad. Just as the topigraphical map showed, there was a nice flat area on top--a good place to camp. And the rain had stopped. We were pleased to find our friend Oopala setup there, too. He was kind enough to help us get the tent up quickly between rain showers. To add to a good ending, our friend Sean-O showed up too. After getting lost yesterday and going back to a B&B for the night, he put in about 24 miles today! Not bad for a 72 year old gentleman. It's pouring again, but we head to town tomorrow, so we can deal with it. We'll be able to dry out there.