Date: 2008-08-06
From: Poplar Ridge Lean To

To: Rangley
Miles today: 11.0

How to describe today... not fun. dissappointing. Even scary.I believe that today was by far the most dangerous day of our hike so far. I was kicking myself for even leaving the shelter. But there was no way to know what the day held in store for us when we set out.We left Poplar Ridge shelter at 7AM to head over the Saddleback range. There was a cold wind. That was a new thing, but it wasn't raining so we moved out. Our clothes were still wet from the night before but knowing we were going to be walking above treeline we added our rainpants to our outfits.First ascent was Little Saddleback. The usual steep rockclimb ascent was followed by rising up above treeline into a strong, possibly gale-like, wind. It was bitter and this was the small mountain of the day.Next we moved on to The Horn. As I met a NOBO I asked how the upcoming summits were. He said the wind was strong but no rain. By the time we got there that had changed. We made our way over The Horn and Saddleback mountain in an incredibly strong wind and hail. At some points the hail was driving directly into our faces pounding us. Our only goal was to not stop moving. To stop for even a few seconds meant getting chilled which was very dangerous.We had talked about going into Rangley tonight to the Gull Pond Lodge. When I spoke on the phone with Bob O'Brien at the hostel he said I should be sure to call him from the top of the mountain so I would have a cell. There was no way I was stopping in this weather on an exposed ridgeline to make a phone call. Owl was concerned. She was getting cold and really wanted to make it into town. So we stopped just below the treeline. Unfortunately my phone would not make the connection. We couldn't stand still for long, we had to continue moving downhill.It was a treacherous downhill. It was raining so hard the trail itself became a river at some points. We had slick rocks and roots to climb down. The whole way I was thinking 'we should have zeroed at the shelter'. We finally made it to the Piazza Rock shelter. Tigger had run ahead of us with Roo and were there warming up when Soaring, Owl and I arrived along with Sweet Sixteen.It was decision time. We hadn't been able to get in touch with Bob to pick us up at the road. We have had a bad track record with getting a hitch into towns. I suspect it's the dog. Sweet Sixteen was ready to move on. Soaring was ready to go with her. Owl and I decided to stay at the shelter for the night with Tigger and Roo and get warmed up. Sweet Sixteen and Soaring would hitch a ride into town to the hostel and would set up a shuttle to pick us up at the trailhead at 9AM in the morning. They took off and we started stripping out of wet clothes, drinking some hot Propel and hanging everything to dry.We pulled out our sleeping bags to crawl into for warmth and found that Owl's was soaked. It had been inside of her Sea to Summit packliner so we're not sure how it got wet. That was a real concern. We hung it to dry and lit our stoves in hope the warmth would help. It was a pitiful hope.We kept hearing voices out on the trail, but no one came into camp. Finally, in comes this couple with their dog. We were surprised to see they were carrying day packs. We asked if they were out for a day hike in this weather. They said 'yes', they thought it would clear. We told them our story and they immediatley said, 'we'll give you a ride into town.' 'Really!?' Wow! Quickly we started packing up and putting back on our wet clothes.While walking across the top of Saddleback in the hail I had asked God for a miracle and here he provided it in the form of Ed, Peggy and their dog Gadsy from Kensington, Maryland. I bet they had no idea when they headed out for a hike in the rain that they were an answer to prayer.So we walked the remaining 1.8 miles down the mountain to a waiting car. Unfortunately we had no idea were the hostel was. We called but Bob was out on a run and the hiker who answered the phone had no idea how he had gotten there. About this time we passed the laundry mat, always our favorite spot in town. We had Ed and Peggy drop us there.We washed and dried our clothes. Most importanly we stood right up next to the driers and warmed ourselves. We tried to look discreet doing it, but I think everyone knew what we were doing.I had called Soaring, who had already arrived at Gull Pond Lodge and let her know where we were and asked her to have Bob come pick us up when he had a chance. About the time the last clothes came out of the drier she called to say he was on his way. Amazing timing.Bob is an incredible, nice, wonderful man. Today he is our hero. Really. We got to the hostel and were unloading and sorting out the wet stuff from our packs when word went out that Bob was making a run into town to the IGA (grocery store). We jumped back into the car. We picked up a roasted chicken, Greek salad and chocolate cupcakes for dinner. And of course some Pringles for tomorrow.Back at the hostel we ate, showered and crawled into bed. What a day! And thank You Lord for places like Gull Pond Lodge!And it's still raining!Rabbit, Owl and RooJoshua 1:9