Date: 2018-06-22
From: Buena Vista

To: The Priest Shelter
Miles today: 20.6
Weather: overcast clouds

It rained again heavily last night, but I'm waking up in a motel and the morning is comfortably cool. The mountains are shrouded in fog. I call for a shuttle back to the trail and grab breakfast at BK across from the Budget Inn. I'm ready for another two days. Hopefully they'll be a little drier.Gary Serra shows up right at 9:30 as promised, but I'm still stuffing everything that had been out to dry around the room back into my pack. Hope I didn't forget anything!Back at route 60 I head up into the woods. It's a 2000 foot climb right off the bat. But it's not very steep. At least, it doesn't feel that way today. It's still cool and the humidity is noticeably lower. I find I need far less water and few if any breaks. I pass Booger Bear again halfway up. Haven't seen him for three days. Near the top I meet Iron Man, a fiftyish thruhiker attempting to finish in four months. He started late, on May 3. As we ascend the fog condenses and sprinkles on us.Fog shrouds our view at the top. We undulate over the ridge line. Going over Cole Mountain there's a large grassy open area and the fog drifts aimlessly about. Down at Hog Camp Gap there's a troop of boy scouts on their second of a nine day hike north to Shenandoah. They were slated to go to Philmont this summer until the fires there cancelled their high adventure program. As a passing shower hits the group leader sends all the boys scurrying to cover their packs. Iron Man is studying the signs here looking for the promised spring as he's low on water. It's a half mile away though. I've drank very little so I give him some of mine.A couple miles later I catch up with Juice and the girls I passed climbing Bluff two days ago. They're relaxing and goofing around while I get some water. I move on and soon after near Salt Log Gap the skies open up for a good soaking shower. I put on my poncho and walk through it for an hour until it tails off. I consider stopping at Seeley-Woodworth shelter, but figure I can't wait out showers that could go on intermittently all day so I keep moving. The tread is fairly nice here and the runoff is manageable. There are some rocky spots, more than south of route 60. I reach Spy Rock which normally has a great view from a bouldering climb. It's not presently raining so I drop the pack and explore. It's a maze of trails that dead-end at the boulders and in rhododendron groves. It takes awhile to find a safe way up with everything wet. It's a huge slab of bedrock, sort of like a bald in Maine. Of course there's nothing to see but fog. I've largely lost my orientation without the sun and have to scout out my way back to the trail. Of course it starts raining again while I'm trying to pick my way down the steep slabs!Back in my poncho on the trail I walk for miles in the steady rain, heavy at times. Finally after two hours I reach The Priest shelter, my destination for the night. The shelter is full with a close-knit crew of thruhikers including Medicine Man and others I saw in Glasgow. But the rain has abated at a perfect time. I pitch my tent, make dinner (potatoes, bacon, and cheese, yum), and hang the bear bag amazingly quickly just before the rain starts up again. A little luck for once! The rain continues into the night as some less fortunate laggards arrive and set up.So for now I am safe, warm enough and dry enough on the Appalachian Trail.