Date: 2008-03-19
From: Standing Indian Shelter

To: Big Spring Shelter
Miles today: 12.9
Weather: moderate rain

First two days in North Carolina were windy, rainy, foggy.Wow, I'm laying in my hammock for the first time in a couple of days. Yep, I had more shelter stays.Here's some stuff that happened within the past few days. On March 17 when I stayed at Plumorchard Gap Shelter, Pips and I were talking about Harvey, and how we were both a little freaked out him. Pips said he looked like he stepped out of a Gary Hilton look-a-like contest. It's true. The whole night we were only half jokingly repeatedly looking out the shelter windows (yes, it was a flippin' SWEET shelter!) to make sure Harvey wasn't going to sneak up and murder us while we slept. We made Butters freak out too. [[In hindsight, I found out a little more about Harvey. Bronco saw the man's family drop him off at the trailhead, he said they basically pushed him out of the car. He was only supposed to be out for a five day hike, but every time he tried to reach his family by phone they wouldn't answer. Poor guy, and now I feel bad for suspecting him of anything...]]The next day, after a surprisingly restful night's sleep, we got going towards the North Carolina state line. The weather was misty/foggy windy, but not too rainy. A little drizzly toward the end of the day. I got to the shelter and it was full of: Little Fox, Sauerkraut, Mary Poppins, Ruby Tuesday, Kota, Pips, Butters. I immediately went to look for a hammock spot, but Ruby Tuesday stopped me and said they'd make room, as the guidebook said it could hold eight people. So I inserted my sleeping pad in between Ruby and Mary Poppins. When we all got in our sleeping bags, we looked like a pack of hot dogs. Nobody could really move. The evening progressed with much singing by Mary Poppins, Sauerkraut, Butters and Ruby Tuesday. I'm pretty sure Mary Poppins sings all the time. All the singing went on for hours, until after 9 when Little Fox and Sauerkraut (a father and daughter duo) sang their rendition of Edelweiss.The night was rough. The wind was strong, and it started raining hard. The wind would occasionally blow a spray onto the sleeping shelter-dwellers. I turned my sleeping bag around so that my feet were level with RT and MP's heads. It was still scrunched and uncomfortable. The roof was noisy--it sounded like people crushing beer cans and crumpling potato chip bags. Still, I was glad that with those POWERFUL gusts, that I was under a roof instead of a tarp. I woke up after many tossings and turnings around 8, to see that the weather had gotten worse.I sat around in my sleeping bag still leeching warmth off of Ruby Tuesday and Mary Poppins for about 30 minutes, and then decided to get up and get hiking. The Pips and Butters crew didn't seem inclined to leave, and nor did the Little Fox crew (including Mary Poppins). So, anticipating a day fighting the urge to commit murder if I stayed (I was an introvert surrounded by extroverts...I need quiet during my days), I opted for option B: hiking in the rain. I found that hiking in the rain really isn't so bad. Once your shoes get soaked you abandon the need to avoid puddles, and can go faster. It's kinda fun jumping in puddles. I stayed dry in my rain gear for a time, but eventually was all soaked all over. My feet and hands are still a little pruny. It was a LONG day--thirteen miles. For a long time I was smiling and singing:"There were two sisters of county ClaireO the wind and the rainOne was dark and the other was fairO the dreadful wind and rain.They both had love of the miller's sonO the wind and the rainBut he was fond of the fairer oneO the dreadful wind and rain.So she pushed her into the river to drownO the wind and the rainAnd watched her as she floated downO the dreadful wind and rain.She floated till she came to the miller's pondO the wind and the rainDead on the water like a golden swanO the dreadful wind and rain.She came to rest on the river sideO the wind and the rainHer bones were washed by the rolling tideO the dreadful wind and rain.Along the road came a fiddler fairO the wind and the rainWho found her bones just lying thereCried O the dreadful wind and rainHe made a fiddle peg of her long finger boneO the wind and the rainHe made a fiddle peg of her long finger boneCried O the dreadful wind and rainHe strung his fiddle bow with her long yellow hairO the wind and the rainHe strung his fiddle bow with her long yellow hairCried O the dreadful wind and rainHe made a fiddle fiddle of her breast boneO the wind and the rainHe made a fiddle fiddle of her breast boneCried O the dreadful wind and rainBut the only tune that the fiddle would play wasO the wind and the rainThe only tune that the fiddle would play wasO the dreadful wind and rain."--performed by Gillian Welch and David RawlinsI went over some impressive mountains today: Standing Indian Mountain, Albert Mountain. I saw nothing but white.I got to this shelter around 5:30 to find some older guys including Pops, who I met at Cloud 9. Also here are Jeff and Miles, one of whom went to Texas A&M but lives in Austin. By the time I got to the shelter the rain stopped and I put up my hammock. Now the rain is back on. North Carolina radio says there could be thunderstorms until 2 AM.I'm worried about staying dry in my hammock, since I've never used it in O the Wind and the Rain. Luckily I may go to Franklin tomorrow, so if everything I own is soggy it won't matter too much.Upon reflection, I think I judged North Carolina too harshly yesterday after the first climb kicked my butt. I thought that in NC the use of switchbacks had gone out of style with the name "knob". Indeed, not so. Today I traversed mostly flat paths (how else could I have the breath to SING?) It was like it was all one big switchback.I wish the wind and rain would stop, I'm a little tired of being damp.