Date: 2008-05-15
From: A. Rufus Morgan Shelter

To: Sassafras Shelter
Miles today: 7.7
Weather: light rain

Today was a rainy day, though warm. I stopped several times during the hike to write, as I was inspired by the rain...Let me set the scene for those of you who may never have had the chance to be out in the woods on a rainy May day: Mist envelopes you like a warm blanket, making everything appear soft and mystical. Dark tree trunks melt into white. Steady rain pours down around you, the drops making a music to those willing to stop and listen. Single drops hang on branches and buds, flowers and newly opened leaves. On some, like Sassafras, they collect, the arrangement unique and like a work of art, ever changing. As you walk along, your footsteps are silent--you, a shadow passing through, unnoticed. Scents reach out and shout their presence, or whisper, always changing: pine, or a fragrant flower, rain on wet ground, some mysterious scent unique to the woods. A breeze blows, the leaves silently lift to show their white undersides.I walk along, soaked from the work of climbing mountains. No one passes me. I see nothing but trees and the thin winding path through trees of every shape and size. I wonder who has passed before me. And who will come after. Will anyone stop at this exact spot? There is gold in the woods... and today, I am rich."Life is not about the number of breaths you take, but the number of moments life takes your breath away." --?..so after a day of happily hiking (until maybe the last hour) in the rain, I eventually arrived at the shelter. It was funny because I reached a sign out on the trail, indicating the shelter down another path, and even though it wasn't where Doug said we'd stay, I knew he was there because he left his hat hanging on the corner of the sign. A great idea! So I knew to hike the short trail to the shelter. And it was fun because as I came around to the front of the shelter, everyone there saw me and was excited, saying hello and being all friendly. "Hello Lollygagger!" "She made it!" "She saw your sign!" There was Justice the dog, and his owners, Becky and Todd and Be Still, Mighty Mouse and of course, Doug. I was happy to be there. But cold. Because as nice as the rain was in the beginning, as the day wore on I was getting cold and ready to eat and be dry. So arriving was nice. The funniest part of the evening was that I was REALLY cold and dying for something hot to drink. But I had no hot chocolate. Doug offered to give me one of his, but said I'd have to be the one to dig through his food bag to find it. So after changing into some dry clothes, I began to dig through his food bag. I practically had to empty it before, 5 minutes later, I finally found the envelope of hot cocoa. I pulled it out, anxious to fix it and have it before I cooked dinner. The water took forever to boil, but finally it's ready. I tear open the envelope and pour it into my mug. But wait? What's this? It's only marshmellows! There isn't any chocolate mix. I stupidly look into the envelope, but no, there is nothing else. I was flabbergasted. And Doug and I just looked at each other and burst out laughing, uncontrollablly, for like 5 minutes. The others at the shelter looked at us oddly, not really getting what was so funny. And I guess, writing it here, it doesn't seem that funny! But it gave us a good laugh. So no hot cocoa for me, though I did use the hot water to add to the many marshmellows along with a lot of grape kool-aid mix. Yummy! I'm remember that next time I'm out of chocolate. So I did sleep in the shelter, the first one for me. Because it was pouring rain and there was room in the shelter as it was a two story one. I set up my stuff on the bottom floor and amazingly, had a rather good night sleep. Didn't even hear any mice scurrying around!