Date: 2017-07-01
From: Velvet Rocks Shelter

To: Trapper John Shelter
Miles today: 15.2
Weather: overcast clouds

7/1Tented at Trapper John Shelter15.2 milesI just looked at the label on my sopping wet hat. "Do not get wet." Ha! Hahahahaha! Heh. Today we had a biblical rain, both in the immensity and intensity of it, and in the part where it was screwing with us. It rained a bit overnight but it was not raining at daybreak. I had breakfast in bed and then packed up. The others did things in a different order so I sat with them while they made breakfast. At 7:30 I headed out with the others following shortly. We had agreed that if we got to Moose Mountain Shelter by two, we would press on to Trapper John for a fifteen mile day. So I needed to get moving. I was passed quickly by Goddess and Boss but not Safari. As the miles passed I wondered and worried.  She hikes faster than me. She should have passed me within the first hour. It was hot and humid, and I was so ready for it to rain. When it did, I suddenly became water cooled and could pick up my pace. I was a comfortable temperature so I never put on rain gear, which would only have made me sweat. My clothes stuck to me more or less depending on how intensely it rained. At 1:30 I arrived at Moose Mountain to find a bunch of hikers in the shelter, including Goddess and Boss. I plopped down to eat a snack. Safari finally showed up. She had accidentally taken a side trail, which blew an hour. I was glad to see her. I got out my phone to find water pooled in its ziplock. The bag looked new. I don't know why it failed. Miraculously the fellow sitting next to me had a bag of instant rice to put the phone in for a while. Thanks, Pockets! The phone appears to have survived. I double bagged it in two other ziplocks for the remainder of the day. My guidebook pages suffered a similar bag failure but are far less critical. Despite more rain in the forecast we decided to move on. We walked together for three miles, talking over the rain as well as we were able. When we got to the climb up to Holt's Ledges, I fell to the back of the group. Safari was in front of me, climbing in a rhythm as regular as a metronome. I walked a little faster but stopped to rest often, so our pace worked out the same. As the miles sloshed by, her metronome turned to more of a toy with the batteries running down. The rain intensified as we went up the mountain. In all my miles, I've never seen flooding this bad. The top of the mountain was flooding, cascading down the sides wherever the water could find a way. The trail itself had rapids. Occasional piles of leaves would let go in mini landslides. We finally reached the summit and started descending. I could hear water roaring somewhere. We had to pass a stream twice to get to the turnoff for the shelter. I think if we had gotten there fifteen minutes later, we might have been stuck on the other side. It was only shin deep but the current was strong. Despite the trail turning into a slip'n'slide, I managed to stay upright all day until I was in sight of the shelter. I misjudged a rapid and went down on the side of the trail. I wasn't hurt. My pants got slightly dirtier and my water bottle cap got a little contaminated. Possible gut issues were so far down my list of troubles as to be nonexistent. The shelter was full, of course. I haven't been down to it but the others had. We set up our tents uphill of the shelter. I think we're in a safe enough location. The water is diverting around us on either side. Of course, that could change. I don't think there is a truly safe place tonight unless you're in a hammock. I'm not going to worry about it too much.