Date: 2018-07-10
From: Bromley summit

To: Big Branch campsite
Miles today: 13.4

I woke up at 5am to the sound of birds and deflating sleeping pads. I closed my eyes and tried to just rest and then stretch finally getting up at 5:35. I was feeling very tired. I dressed and visited the privy brushing my teeth on the way back. Several hikers were already headed out including Thumper and Grumpy. I sat at the inside picnic table with River after boiling my water outside and made my oatmeal. Some hikers had slept out on the chair lift platform and came into the building to use picnic table as well. Almost everyone was gone by the time River and were packed up and ready. I headed out at 8am before River. The descent was not bad but it didn't stay down long before climbing Styles and Peru peaks. I stopped for lunch at Peru Peak shelter and was soon joined by River and later Epic. The brook and footbridge were right beside us sounding soothing and making filtering water a breeze. After lunch I headed off down the trail which turned into the most amazingly flat and Speedy section I have encountered yet. River and I met at Griffith Lake and took a quick swim. It was amazing! So refreshing! We headed back up the trail leaving 4 young women at the lake enjoying it. It was sunny and warm. Just as I reached the lost Pond shelter access trail I heard a rumble of thunder off to the West. I thought about stopping and Hiking into the shelter waiting for it to pass, but I could see the sky a little bit and it didn't seem that the storm was very close yet. With the trail being in the condition that it was I decided I would press on to Big Branch shelter just under 2 miles away. Before I reached Big Branch shelter I started to question my wisdom. I should know better having been caught in 2 serious storms back in Pennsylvania. But I continued to boogie down the trail eventually sort of trail running, as the wind picked up and the Thunder rolled closer. There was no serious rain yet but about two tenths of a mile before Big Branch shelter I started to encounter a few raindrops. I passed by a campsite on the left occupied by four young men who clearly had hiked in from the road as evidenced by their array of lawn chairs and awnings. I knew at this point I must be really close to Big Branch. When I saw the Footbridge I had instant relief and I knew the shelter was just one tenth of a mile away. the storm was over head now, thunder and lightning and increased rain drops but I had no rain gear on and no pack cover and there was no time to stop. The trail approached the shelter from the side and as I jumped inside skipping the steps with the sky opening up behind me I saw a young woman setting up a tent inside. At the same time I entered the shelter I said you can't set up a tent inside of the shelter. I scared this young woman half out of her mind and her hands went wild in the air as she screamed repeatedly. Once she calmed down she hugged me. I learned that this young woman, Faith, was terrified of the thunderstorm. She had set up her tent outside the shelter prior to the storm even though tenting is not allowed there. As the storm approached she hung her bear bag and decided to put her tent inside the shelter since no one else was there at 5 pm. She told me that just prior to my arrival she had asked God to please send her a person because she didn't want to be alone and had only seen one other hiker all day. And here I was scaring the wits out of her! The rain poured down in buckets followed by hail. We sat and watched it while having a snack, some water and discussed that when the storm subsided she would pack up her stuff and come and join myself and River at a tent site by the footbridge. She was quite relieved to not have to spend the night by herself.At this point River had still not arrived but the storm was over so we packed up and left the shelter headinf back the tenth of a mile to the Footbridge and just after we exited the shelter a tree broke in the forest loud and crashing scaring Faith once more and she screamed and jumped and ran behind me. I turned around and calmly told her that she was okay that she was going to be all right but she was still on edge and just half scared out of her wits. We found a beautiful large campsite right on the edge of the river with a view of the Footbridge and settled in. Once we had our tents set up River arrived and announced that she was home! I was worried about her for a while, but after setting up my tent and before her arrival I went over to the Footbridge to take a few photographs and Next Step passed by letting me know that River was safe at the Lost Pond shelter and was not sure if she was going to spend the night there or come to Big Branch. But I know River and I thought she would probably have her dinner and once the storm passed she would continue the less than 2 miles being that there was still plenty of daylight and camp where we had agreed at Big Branch. Faith and I made our dinner and ate while River set up camp. We hung our bear lines after I totally obliterated my rock sack by having it crash onto the large Boulders on the side of the river while trying to get it up and over the branch. The mesh now has gaping holes in it and I'll have to tape it with Tenacious Tape. When we were just about ready for bed a young man wandered into the site looking for space for his tent and River directed him to a nice flat area out back and private He was quite pleased and settled in. He came over to get water and chat for a minute before turning in for the evening. His name is Pegasus, and ironically he is from Bow New Hampshire. It was kind of late so we didn't speak long before we all crawled into our tents to get some sleep. The sound of the River will lull me to sleep. I hope everyone else in camp has a restful night too.