Date: 2010-03-20
From: Muskrat Creek Shelter

To: Betty's Creek
Miles today: 16.2
Weather: scattered clouds

Woke up this morning to clouds so I figured it would be a good idea to start out with my pack cover on, turned out to be a wonderful idea. I headed out around nine and about half way up Albert mountain the fog rolled in and right before we started the rock scramble to the top it started raining. I was really excited when we hit the fire tower and despite the rain and wind I really wanted to climb to the top.. hmmm.. I got up the last flight of stairs and the wind was blowing at least 50mph if not more. I felt like I was on the top of Mt. Washington! Turns out they locked the trap door to the top anyways so dissapointed I carefully made my way down the wet, metal steps, careful not to get blown off the edge in the process. Kelly and I stopped in the shelter around 10:30 for lunch since I wasn't sure if I would get another dry eating opportunity. A few other guys were also there snacking and taking a quick break, I knew since I only needed to do 12 miles today that I could take my time. The hike to the next shelter was fairly uneventful, I was leapfrogging with the other hikers out on the trail that day, the bottom of my feet hurt, and I was wet. Kelly has a nice waterproof layered coat that keeps the bottom layer dry but as the rain soaked her pack I knew it was getting heavier. Fortunately I packed her light today but somebody oughta make a pack cover for dog packs!Got to the next shelter and decided just to chill for a while. Young One was there and had been there for a while and a couple of the other guys were there hanging out as well. Since it was just past one we decided to hang out for a while since we knew if we left now we would have a long time to just chill out in our tents= more time for condensation to form and drip on me all night. I started to get pretty chilled so Kelly snuggled up with me, so nice to have my own personal furnace! Around 2:00 Young One, Kelly, and I headed out hoping to find a place to stealth for the night close to the road so we could hit Ron Haven's 9:00 shuttle into town.. we didn't have much luck and the four miles passed very quickly. We got to the road and were soaked and decided to just head into town and get a room for the night. Of course no one wants to pick up two soaking wet hikers and a wet dog, but fortunately Ron Haven (this guys is amazing to hikers!) picked us up in his shuttle and brought us to one of the three motels he owns in Franklin. He also shuttled us into town and back to get groceries and I probably shouldn't have bought so many bananas.. I guess i'll have to eat them in the morning I did polish off half a large pizza and have been eating quite a bit lately on the trail. I am sure I have still lost 5-10lbs despite of the fact that I don't think I could possibly eat anymore. I am going to have to see if Granite Gear can send me a smaller waist strap for my pack and will have to get a smaller pair of pants or a skirt. Should get to the NOC in another couple of days, was gonna take a zero day there but after spending the money on a motel in Franklin (and almost out of cash with no debit card yet) I might just have to take a Nero instead. We also hit the 100 mile mark today so small in comparison, but a big milestone none the less.