Date: 2021-06-14
From: Clarks Ferry Shelter

To: Unmarked campground 
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: heavy intensity rain

Picking up where my last post left off, I got up at 6, which was earlier than I wanted to start, but I made breakfast and started slowly organizing and packing. Right before I started packing up, I actually saw a skunk. It came from the path to the shelter, and it continued up the AT when it got to the junction (part of my tired brain wondered if I would see it at the next shelter since it was going on the trail too). I knew that the next shelter¢s water source was down a steep slope made up of ¢300 stone steps¢ according to the ATC, but which most people commented was more like between 500-600. Even if I made it to the campsite after that, there would be no water at that campsite either. So I walked down the hill with all of my treatment equipment and ended up at the piped spring, which had a flow rate of approximately 10 drops per minute. It took me a full hour to filter my two containers of water and to fill up my dirty bottles so that I could filter those later when need be. I ended up calculating the weight of the water when I need to use this method and figured out that it¢s approximately 11 pounds of water that I¢m adding to my pack. Anyway I went back and finished packing everything up, and though I¢d seen the predicted weather was rainy and cloudy, it looked bright and sunny as could be. I decided to check the weather again, and the updated version said sun all day until 10-11 when it would get rainy, and possible thunderstorms after midnight. ¢Perfect¢, I thought, ¢I¢ll be able to get some good miles in and not get drenched¢. I put my pack on (it really did feel like I put a couple bricks in there with the extra water) and headed up the trail. It was another day with some longer stretches between landmarks, but the sun was shining and it wasn¢t oppressively humid, so I was in a pretty good mood. I got to the next shelter by 2, and figured that it was plenty early enough that I could push on and get to the campsite just over 5 miles away. So I had a quick snack and set off again, and 10 feet up the trail I saw a long black tail on the ground¢¦it was a snake. Luckily it was a rat snake, so not venomous at least, but it was a solid 4-5 feet long. We stared at each other for a few minutes before he decided to leave, since I wasn¢t going to pass him first. I got to a lookout around 3:30, which was 2.4 miles to go to the campsite destination. Just before the lookout I saw my first bear of the trip¢¦don¢t worry mom it was a dog named Bear, but I think it counts. Anyway, I wasn¢t too worried about timing, since I was thinking it¢s still likely to get there between 5-6, and I knew that I hadn¢t been taking enough breaks throughout the day the previous days (I¢m more of the person who gets to the destination and then relaxes), so I figured I should sit down, have a snack, and just enjoy the view and relax. I ended up lying on a nice big rock in the sun, using my pack as a pillow, until just before 4, when I noticed it wasn¢t that bright anymore. I packed up everything and started walking. I glanced up, because I was wondering why it had gotten so much darker and saw the sky covered in storm clouds. I froze, confused, because the thunderstorms weren¢t supposed to start until after midnight, but the sky didn¢t look like it had gotten that memo, so I checked the weather again quickly, and saw that the forecast had changed, and there were now severe thunderstorm warnings in effect until 9. Now I knew that I had to get moving, because what I was wearing was my set of dry clothes. I started off at a brisk walk, and quickly got to the section of ridge that was exposed, no trees. By that point the wind had picked up, and it was that strong pre-storm wind that whips around everywhere, so it seemed like the storms were really rolling in. I broke into a light jog a couple of times, determined to get to the campsite I planned for. Going across one of the exposed ridges though, I landed wrong on my ankle and twisted it. I¢d come close to twisting it many times on the rocks so far, but had always been able to get my weight into my other leg so I didn¢t actually hurt the ankle. I wasn¢t so lucky this time, and so I actually rolled it. It hurt, but clearly wasn¢t broken, and I didn¢t want to stop on the ridge, and I knew I had to get to camp, so I pushed on (slower than before). By this point it had started drizzling a few different times, and I had no idea how long the storms would hold off. I was still on the ridge, but luckily there were many more trees around by this point. There are usually a lot of unmarked campsites along the side of the trail, from other campers who set their tents out and made a fire ring, so I decided it was time to admit I wouldn¢t make it to the original campsite and aim for the first unmarked one that I could find. I found one that looked decent and picked the first tent site I found. It takes me around 5 minutes to set my tent up, and about halfway through it, another hiker was walking up the trail and stopped to say, ¢hey, I just wanted to let you know, I don¢t think he¢s coming this way or anything, but there was a rattlesnake like right back there. So I guess just like don¢t leave any containers out for it to snuggle up into, but I just wanted to warn you about that¢. I thanked him as he walked away but my mind was racing. I wondered if I should deconstruct my tent and try to keep pushing forward, or should I stay at this campsite and just be extra careful. I decided to stay, since I was mostly done setting up the tent. I made a quick dinner, went out and tied up my bear bag up, and collapsed back in my tent, waiting for the storms, which ended up not arriving until after midnight.