Date: 2005-03-22
From: Rock Gap Shelter (NC)

To: Siler Bald Shelter (NC)
Miles today: 7.5
Weather: overcast clouds

Day 113/22Start: Rock Gap ShelterFinish: Siler Bald ShelterMiles: 7.5Weather: cloudy a.m., rain p.m.After sleeping in until nearly nine o'clock, we finally got moving and went into Franklin. DuBoius and Beartracks bought food at Ingles while Jason dried his shoes and I purchased a foot-long sub for later in the evening. Then we went to Vito's Pizza where I ate an entire 14" pizza with three toppings. We then drove to the outdoor shop for a quick look around. Jason bought some synthetic pants (to replace his Carharts) and a pair of gaiters. As we drove back to the trailhead it began to rain pretty heavily and continued doing so for the rest of the afternoon until we reached the shelter. Unfortunately, we reached the shelter after it had reached its maximum capacity. Setting up the tarp was a chore with frozen hands and the prospect of doing so on a bald with potential thunderstorms brewing for the rest of the evening was not too enticing. But the sub went down nicely along with some potato soup courtesy of DuBouis and sleep came easily soon afterward thanks to the rhythmic hooting of a couple of owls. I woke up once during the night to heavy rain and lightning. When the time between the lightning and thunder became less than five seconds I began sitting in the lightning position on my pad, ready to go resuscitate Beartracks who was tented under the biggest tree in the middle of the bald with a huge lightning scar down its center. Fortunately, the storm passed fairly quickly and I was able to get back to sleep, only to be intermittently interrupted by drops of condensation falling on my face like Chinese water torture.Anniversary Recollection: I failed to record in the original journal entry what has turned out to be the most memorable moment of this day. This was the first time that I saw DuBois act belligerent toward a group of unfriendly hikers. Trudging miserably through what was the worst day of rain to date, I pulled into Siler Bald Shelter after it was obviously full. However, since the shelter has a covered section in front of the sleeping platform, several hikers who were not staying in the shelter had gathered there to escape from the rain. DuBois marched into the vicinity shortly after I arrived, and with a thin veneer of nonchalance toward the fact that the shelter was obviously full, stated "Greetings and salutations." The fortunate hikers who did have shelter space were a sight to behold, as some guarded their space with primal facial expressions of territorial defense while others convincingly pretended that the excess hikers did not exist. Dubois picked up on this immediately and, after a subtle change in demeanor but with a drastic change in volume, reminded his inattentive audience "I said 'GREETINGS AND SALUTATIONS'"! Lion King, sensing the tension in the air, tried to defuse the wordless argument by laughingly responding "Hey, DuBois, man. How's it goin'?" This probably provided just enough relief to avoid a fight and, with one last look of disgust, DuBois turned from the crowd and, in a purposely loud tone, recounted to me the rudeness of these hikers and how the rain shows the true colors of these bleep bleep beepers. I can't say that these folks were undeserving of DuBois' onslaught.