Date: 2008-05-20
From: Laurel Creek Shelter

To: Niday Shelter
Miles today: 12.4
Weather: light rain

Happy Birthday Brad!!!I don't think there was a single mouse living in this shelter. We didn't see a single sign of one. That makes for a more relaxing night. Maybe it had something to do with the bird's nest up in the eave. It was actually a Phoebe bird! I didn't know that but Hi-Lo had left a note in the register to not bother her, so that's how we knew what it was. Oh, makes me miss my Phoebe!Even though we have no tent to pack up I am still slow. No excuse today. Brad still makes me hot chocolate and breakfast even though it is his day. What a guy!We hit the Trail and have some pretty hairy stream crossings to tackle. It proves to be quite dangerous on fresh out of bed legs. We fortunately make it to the other side without any serious injury, just a couple close calls.We go through a lot of fields and cross a lot of stiles. We even go through a donkey farm. Brad tries to feed them some grass but they aren't so interested. They are ugly, mangy looking things. The way they hee-haw makes us laugh all the way through the field, though! It is just pain funny!We cross this stile that has a flyer nailed to it looking for two lost female beagles. We don't think much of it and hike on. We hike about a mile up the Trail when I suddenly hear heavy breathing behind me and then feel clawing on the backs of my legs. I just about crap myself as I scream bloody murder and turn around to see two beagles! They are absolutely adorable! They jump around me all excited and I yell to Brad that I found the missing dogs. He comes running back down the Trail in disbelief. He chases after them into the woods; they apparently think this is a fun game while he is getting annoyed. I pull out some beef jerky to lure them with and Brad yells at me to use my soy jerky, not his good stuff. Yet I don't think they will enjoy it much so I stick with the good stuff. The puppies come running, as does Brad, and I give them all some jerky. While the puppies are distracted we grab their collars. Brad takes his long-sleeved shirt and ties a sleeve to each collar to make a leash and we start walking downhill. We go a couple steps then they sit down, start yelping and won't budge. We try to get them moving but they just plain refuse. Finally Brad picks them up and carries them down and they are so happy snuggled in his arms. I take lots of pictures and laugh my butt off cause it is such a funny sight. The whole walk down we talk about how some family is going to love us and think us their heroes for bringing back the family pet. We think how it's nice we are going out of our way to do the right thing. And we think maybe, just maybe, there is a reward. We get to the bottom of the hill where the flyer is and Aaron and Neta are there. They read us the number off the flyer and Brad calls. He tells the guy, in an excited voice, that we found his beagles! The guy asks if they have orange collars. "Ours" have John Deere collars. Hmmm? Brad describes their colorings to the guy. Not the same as his beagles. I check between their legs, both female. How can these not be his dogs? Right type of dog. Right gender. Right location. This can't be a coincidence! The guy on the phone is adamant they are not his and hangs up on Brad! We are dumbfounded. So much for becoming heroes and getting a reward, we just wasted an hour and walked two extra miles! This is our oddest Trail experience, by far!We let the dogs go and head up the hill. They follow for awhile but eventually run into the woods. Aaron has a theory: the dogs belonged to the guys' wife or kids and he hated them so he brought them out to the woods and let them go. Weird, weird, weird...We pass the Keffer Oak today; an enormous oak tree thought to be over 600 years old. It is absolutely amazing! I have never seen a tree so massive. The limbs on it are the size of an average tree. We look, and feel tiny next to it. I try to wrap my arms around it and I can't even go a 1/4 of the way. It is simply beautiful and stunning.We have a big climb out of the field, then once on top we just walk the ridgeline. There are these huge mounds of stone spread out all along the ridge and the Trail just weaves around them. I have no idea what they are from but it feels like an old graveyard and it gives me the creeps.We stop for lunch at the sign to Sarver Hollow Shelter. We don't go down cause it is a half mile off the Trail. I hate when they do that, but I suppose it does keep the shelters nicer because there is less traffic. I give Brad his first Sprite that I packed out for his birthday. You may not think this is a lot, but do you know how much Brad loves Sprite? And do you know how heavy it is to pack out? Anyway, we then head down this steep, long descent. At one point we have to walk across these enormous rock slabs on the ridge. It's great because it is totally open and gives us a beautiful view of the ridges we are across from. We stop for a bit and videotape.Brad had told people it was going to rain and hail but the skies remained blue long after we got to Niday Shelter. And that is why he remains known as Shitty Forecast. He does catch a ration of crap from Aaron, who was one of the people that put all his rain gear on after hearing Brad's forecast.We decide to stay in the shelter in the off chance it does rain. We are joined by Mr. Bones, Stubbs, Aaron, Neta, Blues Traveler and a few others we don't really know. We make dinner and Brad enjoys his second Sprite of the day and a birthday card. Not much, but we will celebrate right when we get into town. We have a fire for the first time in a long while and have a quiet ending to Brad's big day.