Date: 2018-05-13
From: Peters Mountain Shelter

To: Rausch Creek Shelter
Miles today: 18.0

The rains finally came last night. The Scouts stayed outside but the leaders occupied the second floor of the shelter. I got into my sleeping bag at 6, but the card games started and kept me awake until nearly 7:30! Then, unfortunately, the snoring began. I¢m using the moldable silicone earplugs and the low frequencies are muted but still annoying. I¢ll Google the topic the next time I¢m in a town and see if there is something more effective, short of suffocating the snorers.  I woke early and started hiking st 6:15, dressed in my rain suit over running shorts and t-shirt with my bright orange pack cover in place. For the first couple of hours, it was like hiking in a cloud. I usually take advantage of the privy at the shelter, but my body was not cooperative this morning, showing no signs of preferring the relative comfort of a toilet seat. Five miles out, my body announced in the strongest of terms that now was the time. Not five minutes from now but now. It was all I could do to remove the rain pants, grab my Big Dig trowel and toilet paper, and dash into woods. I wouldn¢t have made it the 200¢ called for under Leave-No-Trace guidelines and settled for 20¢. The Big Dig, made from sharpened titanium, easily cut through roots and dug out a perfect 8¢ cat hole. I squatted over it, pleased that my quads did not complain, bunched up my shorts and spread my shoes. With incredibly perfect timing, the second hiker to leave the shelter, Furnace, chose that moment to catch up to me. It was a rather spectacular mooning. I missed my shorts and my shoes, but also my cat hole. I executed a perfect flip of the underlying leaves and all was well, looking as though no one had chosen that spot to do their business. My Big Dig is now inaugurated. I saw that a 1,000¢ down followed by a 1,000¢ up was coming up, so I left the rain pants off. On the climb, I met Sally Forth and Andrea who were slackpacking from the Rock ¢n¢ Sole Hostel. Sally is slacking whenever she can. Soon after, the rain started, quite heavily, and the temperature plunged into the 40¢s. I wished that I had left my rain pants on. Instead I just sped up and got to the shelter about 1:30. My first 18 miler, and I moved well. The trail was much easier today, other than being flooded. I gave up trying to rock hop and avoid the mud and just walked straight down the center of the trail. My shoes and socks were soaked, so what was the point in pretending? My fingers were so cold and wet that my iPhone wouldn¢t work. I was delighted that the side trail to the shelter was well marked.  Furnace, who is such a gentleman that he claims that he saw nothing of my embarrassment, was here first. We both changed into warm, dry clothes and decided to cook our hot dinners for lunch. I spilled mine. After cleaning up the mess, I ate a tuna fish sandwich, a couple sticks of cheese and a Pepperidge Farms Cookie. Sam, Reid (now Jelly), Ulysses and Rizz have come in, making for six of us, the capacity of the shelter. We think we could fit two more if necessary. Yesterday, the water source was 300 steps steeply downhill, a trek I was able to avoid. At Rausch Gap Shelter, there¢s a piped spring 30¢ off the ground directly in front of the shelter, emptying into a stainless steel trough. Batgirl just came in at 5:00. We¢ve squeezed her in, but eight may not be possible! Oops, Kidska just came in, but she honestly prefers to tent. We would have squeezed her in somehow!