Date: 2007-05-27
From: Hurricane Shelter

To: Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 20.8
Weather: clear sky

This day's hike was destined to be all business - a 20 mile race to pizza, since the shelter is located near a road that Pizza Hut can deliver to. Nonetheless, it had a great start, especially when I reached a rhododendron thicket that was in full bloom. It felt as if I was walking through a sea of green filled with round puffs of purple. I was blessed with a smooth level path so the walk was not only comfortable, I was able to look at the wonderland around me rather than the dirt at my feet. It was punctuated by the singing of a wood thrush, a sound that must be heard to truly appreciate. Eventually the purple gave way to pink and went back to purple again. But, as always, Mother Nature can't let you be too happy. I awoke from my reverie when I heard a rustling to the left of the trail. I looked down and 3' off the trail I saw that a black snake had cleverly ducked under some leaves, but must have thought it was a foot shorter than it actually was, since I saw 1' of snake tail sticking out of the leaves. Fascinating, but obviously it broke the mood.Before the end of the day I saw 2 deer and another black racer. When I saw the deer, I heard them make a noise I'd never heard before, as they apparently snort when they panic. It appears to warn other deer very well. (Note: I later heard that mother deer do this much like a mother grouse fakes a broken wing - so you will follow them and stay away from their babies - what good moms!)At lunch met Stroker, whose family was visiting and he promised they would provide brats as trail magic at Partnership Shelter. More motivation! Also met Kimo, who has been a SOBO section hiker since he was 23 years old in 1967. He plans to finish the hike in 3 more years. Also met Rookie and the female Tumbleweed. At the shelter, I was disappointed to find out that Wolf Taffy and Lion had moved on - I'd heard that they were staying for pizza, and I know they both do the kind of miles that I was unlikely to see them much the rest of the trip. Both very neat guys - Lion a serious, considerate, confident, friendly guy, Wolf Taffy a high energy free spirited, everybody's friend, artistic type. Alden stopped by but moved on too, but said he would meet us at the Relax Inn the next day. Wooly and Rosie were there and stayed the night. Hong Kong Fooey showed up, but not sure where he spent the night. Where is Greg? There was an almost clique-ish group sitting at the shelter, didn't seem very welcoming but I kind of forced them to introduce themselves. Some did, some didn't, but there were a lot of familiar names from past shelter registers - Fast Layne, BP(blessings & Peace, or BackPacker Magazine, a writer), Seven, Patches, Dr. Claw(?), Keymaster, and a surly looking character who refused to introduce himself. Whatever. Candybar was with them too, but of course we knew each other from before. Later in the evening, she got interviewed by the group about her work as a pickle factory QA chemist. It was like the History Channel, the way the questions and answers actually made it sound like the most interesting topic on the planet. Good fun. She also digressed to her collection of candy bar wrappers and her top 5 candy bars from North America and Europe.Dinner - stromboli and a chef salad. Also the trail magic brat - Yum! An interesting incident - the brats were at the picnic table while I was setting up my tent. An extremely attractive girl yelled' "Edge, do you want a brat?". I came over to get one and asked her how she knew my name. She said we met yesterday at the shelter. I bluffed like I knew what she was talking about, but it took me a few minutes to remember that she had indeed been at Hurricane Shelter, but left after a short time. It reminds me of the joke at different types of hikers, and their preferences (sex, beer, Moon Pies). Still, I really appreciated that she made sure I didn't miss out on the Moon Pies, I mean the brats.