Date: 2019-05-05
From: Super 8

To: Curley Maple Gap Shelter
Miles today: 4.3
Weather: light rain

Prometheus woke up before me as usual. He gets restless without having something to do, so he was on the move. He packed up and headed out. We had agreed we weren¢t going far today because it was raining and we were both still tired and sore from the past few days. He headed to Uncle Johnny¢s to hang out and get going, and I waited til checkout. I got breakfast and took another shower, and packed up my stuff. Prometheus had cut my new inserts for me, so I tried those on and they felt great in my shoes. I chatted with a couple in the hotel lobby and two men named Nightingale and No Heart, and a church shuttle showed up. They said they¢d be back soon, but I missed them by five minutes while trying to pack my stuff. They were so nice though and came back a third time to check for more hikers. There was a massive trail magic tent near Uncle Johnny¢s, so they took me there. It was pouring rain and I put my rain gear on and my bag under the overhang. Water was still coming in under the tents, but it was dry enough. They had so much food. This trail magic was extensive and incredible. They had brownies, cupcakes, cakes, cookies, pies, hot dogs, burgers, mac and cheese, corn, coleslaw, brisket, and more. It was amazing!! Unfortunately I wasn¢t very hungry. I was still upset about what happened with Prometheus and I was not feeling the rain and having to leave in it. I chatted with a few people. There was a man from Denmark named Camera Man, and his friend from Taiwan, Mountain Goat. Mama Squirrel was also there and 25-Mile. Hornet came by and said he was sleeping under the bridge to stay out of the rain, and this little kid looked up and said ¢why are you sleeping under the bridge?¢ And we just laughed because we always feel a bit funny as hikers, doing things we¢d never do otherwise. There¢s a guy named Wizard who was staying at the Super 8 with his mom (her new trail name is shots because she showed up to the hostel with little alcohol bottles for everyone) and he¢s been pretty sick the past few days. He said he also slept under a bridge the other night, but classic boy just texted his mom ¢sleeping under a bridge tonight. I¢m fine.¢ And meanwhile she¢s like every other mom thinking ¢wait what?¢ I had a nice time talking to them all. Prometheus and Hot Sauce were there, but I was just taking my space. They headed out ahead of me to walk to that first shelter, as we had agreed. I was waiting for the rain to calm down a bit. It was supposed to by 2pm, and it definitely did calm. I only had 4 miles to walk anyway, but it was uphill, because leaving town! The first part of the trail was actually really nice. It was flat, which I love haha. We had to cross a train track and that was cool. I wanted to pull a ¢Stand by Me¢ and walk down the tracks, but the trail just crossed them. I made it to a river and saw two guys having a smoke. Their names were Smiley and Mama¢s Boy. They were very friendly and Smiley had an entire baguette sticking out of his pack; a real mood. The sun was peeking out, but it was going to rain again at some point according to the forecast, so I kept my rain gear on and was sweating a ton.After the nice flat, it was a nice big uphill. I was sweating so much and my pack felt so heavy; ahh the joys of leaving town. I made it to the shelter and saw everyone. Heather is now Denver because she took time off to go to Denver. She was there and Hot Sauce and Prometheus and a girl named Speedy Queen, who got her name because some drunk boys were trying to do their laundry and couldn¢t figure out the machine, so she did it for them and was named after the brand of the washer. Unicorn and NAB were also there. Hot Sauce, Prometheus, and Denver were all on the top row with Unicorn and NAB. I really needed my space, but I also didn¢t want to hike further today. I settled in on the lower floor next to Mama¢s Boy. Smiley was chatting with me and helped me hang my bear line. I haven¢t had to in weeks; I¢ve been spoiled. There have been cables at almost every shelter! We found a great tree and I threw it and made it over, and then left it there until I was done with my food. Smiley was great moral support. I don¢t hate bear bagging as much anymore, but I still don¢t like it. I slowly ate my dinner, but again had no appetite. I buried the rest of my food because I just couldn¢t finish it. You can dig a cathole in the woods for your food too, although it¢s not recommended. I then went to hang my food bag. It was so heavy. Oh my goodness. It¢s always full when I leave town, and I was excited about the goodies inside, but still. It was a pretty weak tree and I thought I was going to break it. I finally got the bag up though and I have to say, it was a pretty good hang. It was a thin tree and branch so a bear would have trouble climbing it, it was far from the trunk, and it was high off the ground too. Getting there folks!I went to bed, but was feeling pretty poopy about the day. I was again wrapped up in drama now. I freaking hate drama. I definitely used to start some for sure when I was younger, but it was all I knew how to do. And when I think about how silly all that drama was, I wish I had never started it. But now I didn¢t start it, I was just wrapped up in it. Will our group ever be in sync? Hot Sauce has issues with me, then Prometheus has issues with Hot Sauce, then I have issues with Prometheus. It¢s like one of those math problems; how many combinations of people with issues with each other can exist in this group? It¢s also like the Bermuda Triangle. And I want to sail away at this point. Little Debbie