Date: 2004-08-05
From: October Mountain Lean-to

To: Kay Wood Lean-to
Miles today: 8.8

Start October Mtn. Lean ToDestination Kay Wood Lean -To It had started raining last night just after 10:00pm and this morning at 5:00am it was still raining. There was no thunder and lightning, just a slow steady rain all night long. I kept dozing off, hoping to find the rain stopped. Finally, it seemed to let up and I crept out of my tent and up to the shelter to get my food bag and fix breakfast. As I sat there and waited for the water to boil, I noticed that I could see my breath! Oh boy, maybe all the mosquitoes have flown south for the rest of the year! There were two young men at the shelter with us, Penquin and Snipe. We sat around and talked about life, careers, solving the world¢s problems until we decided we had better get to hiking if we were ever going to get to town. For the last fifteen years Marilyn Wiley better known on the trail as "Cookie Lady" has been handing out cookies to hikers from her home just off the trail. She and her husband run a blueberry farm and I had been waiting for days to pick some fresh blueberries. We got there just before lunch and were welcomed by Marilyn who met us with a basket of cookies and two cold sodas! We sat under a big shade tree and enjoyed our treats, while Rufus the dog watched us, licking his chops, waiting for a crumb to fall. The bad news was that they were not picking berries this morning because of last night's rain. I did get to grab me a handful though before I left. We headed back up the road and turned once again onto the trail. There swinging from an overhead tree branch was a bucket. It has been dubbed the magic bucket. Inside were fresh plums, orange juice, Tootsie Pops, Fig Newtons, Oreos and individual containers of peaches and pears! The orange juice had not been opened, so I proceeded to open it and Trish and I drank to our heart's content. I stuffed a package of Oreos and Fig Newtons in the top of my pack, and headed up the trail smiling like a Cheshire Cat. Such magic!! There was even more magic as the dark clouds that hung over the forest eventually were replaced by blue skies with white puffy clouds floating across the sky. We had anticipated rain most of the day! Lunchtime found us at a road crossing, where we once again found more trail magic. This time there was an ice chest full of cold Pepsi, Mountain Dews and Snickers Bars. We spread our wet tents and sleeping bags in the sun to dry and ate lunch. We were soon joined by two brothers and two children who chose that same spot to take a break. The kids were all excited about getting cold drinks. Watching them reminded me of my grandchildren and I realized how much I miss them. The trail today was rerouted at one point, thanks to some beavers who decided to build a dam and make their own new pond. As wet as the trail has been, you wouldn't think it could get any wetter, but again, the dark muck tried to suck our boots off and when we pushed our hiking poles into the ground for stability, they just seemed to keep sinking. We have made good time today, the terrain, although muddy and slippery has been relatively flat. At one point, we both stop dead in our tracks as a huge owl came swooping through the trees on the trail in front of us. We watch him as he lights on a branch, then swoops away through the forest without a sound... Just three miles from town, we decided to stay at the shelter, rather than hike into town and get there late in the evening. There was even more magic at the shelter when I found a package of government issued rations. I was going to have meatloaf and mashed potatoes and gravy for dinner tonight!! And I didn't even have to carry it!! Then to top that off, there were crackers to go with the cheese we had, there was hot chocolate, toaster pastry, jelly ,candy and heavens, a moist towelet for wiping your hands! Of course the whole thing weighs two pounds, but again I did not have to carry it. I was intrigued by the "add water and your meal is heated system" bless some scientist who invented that neat thing. As soon as the packets were heated, I dumped out the water, rolled the bag down and shoved it into the bottom of my sleeping bag! I tried in vain to build a fire, but the wood was soaked through and through. Well, you can't have everything I guess. I felt like a stuffed turkey by the time supper was over with, having finished it off with hot milk and Oreo Cookies. The shelter here is a wide spacious one, with an upstairs loft. Trish has decided to sleep in the shelter tonight. She is determined to be dry at least one night. So far there is no one else here and the cool temperatures have displaced the biting bugs that have plagued us for days, so I will try sleeping in the shelter also. Besides this shelter is built on the side of Warner Mountain and it juts out of a ledge, the so called flat tenting spaces that are here all slope down the mountain side. This shelter is used very little because of it's proximity to town, so it seems to be fairly clean and evidence of rodents are few. I usually like to tent because I do not like to wake up and find mouse droppings on my sleeping bag in the mornings. That plus the fact that there is a small measure of privacy in my tent. I can change clothes, or read, and not feel like I am disturbing anyone. Usually it is also just a bit warmer in my tent, but also a bit wetter because of condensation. So we will see how many critters come calling tonight!