Date: 2019-06-07
From: Vortex

To: Vortex
Miles today: 20.6

Slackpacking! Today Chug and Ziggy left because she was just totally done. She was anxious and ready to get out. I understood. She was going to skip ahead because most of her trail family was ahead and she had had to stop. She skipped ahead to Troutville and was convincing Ziggy to go with her. He seemed hesitant, but went with her anyway. So he skipped ahead even with no injuries and it made me think I could eventually do the same if needed. Acadicus and I were literally going to Trail Days tomorrow in Troutville, but Chug decided to hitch there because she was just totally done. They left when I was out slackpacking. I got back to the Peter¢s Mountain Trailhead and began my hike. And it rained. Oh my goodness did it rain. It¢s been on and off for a few days, but today it RAINED. Chug had made eggs this morning and I had some, so I felt good with plenty of food in my belly, but this weather sucked. It was three miles to that shelter I had originally planned on, so I made a stop there when I got there. I saw Husky and Buttercup there and they were making some jokes about carrying out 5 liters of wine in a bag to a shelter in Vermont on top of Bromley one day. I wonder if they¢ll do it. I felt poopy at the shelter, but I put some Nuun tablets in my water and the rest did me good. I headed out. It was a ridgeline for a bit, but it was super rocky. It was a big scramble for a while and it slowed me down quite a bit. I met a girl and her mom who had slackpacked one day with Angel¢s Rest. The girl¢s name is Executioner, but I can¢t remember what her mom¢s is. They were being slowed down by the rocks too they said. Because of the rain, it was really hard to take my phone out and call because the surface doesn¢t respond to my texts when it¢s wet, even though it¢s a waterproof case. I wanted to keep Acadicus posted, but I couldn¢t get my screen to work and it was just nonstop rain all day. There was a dip down to another shelter, and I was going to stop here, but I just decided to keep going. People were totally hunkered down in the shelter, already in sleeping bags. I could understand. It¢s been days of  rain on and off and today was just nonstop. It¢s a real pain. I knew I had somewhere dry to go to, but if I didn¢t it would totally suck. You just get completely soaked and then you put dry clothes on and hang up your wet clothes, but then the wet clothes never dry and so you have to either put them back on and accept your fate or wear the dry clothes and get them wet too and now have nothing dry to walk in or sleep in. It¢s miserable. I walked past the shelter and there was another climb with another ridgeline. It was really rocky again. This time I decided I needed to call or text Acadicus because I was getting closer and now I was pretty anxious. I used my toilet paper to dry off the surface of my phone, even though that didn¢t last long. I was able to send him a text and he got it. He said he¢d come at 6 and it was all set. I was pretty anxious though despite that. The hike downhill after this was like a muddy waterfall. I also noticed someone must have come and painted blazes here recently, because there were white drops on the ground and the blazes on the trees were running down the trees. Poor timing here! But I was thankful for the new blazes, as there hadn¢t been a lot before this and I couldn¢t check Guthook regularly today with the rain as it was. I passed by a water source and got some on the way down. I met a man who was at a shelter nearby and getting water. He had a big poncho on. I went on and it was more muddy rocky downhill, but alongside water the whole time. I got down to a meadow and figured I had to be close. I was anxious again about timing, so I used my TP again to dry my phone and check. I was still .8 and it was almost 6, so I practically ran that last .8. It was through a meadow and I was booking it. I made it down and saw Acadicus! I was completely drenched from head to toe. I was so thankfully I had a place to go back to. We got back to the hostel and I took a long, hot shower. We all hung out by the fire again tonight, but it was quiet without Ziggy and Chug. We had such a fun night with them before they left. But I was looking forward to another Trail Days tomorrow! And I was happy to have knocked out another 20 miles. Little Debbie