Date: 2009-03-26
From: Tray Mountain Shelter 

To: ÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂVistaÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ Campsite
Miles today: 8.4

After I was all tucked in last night and getting warm I had to go to the Ladies Room (i.e Privy=outside toilet and this one had no roof) and it was raining. So on goes the rain gear and out into the elements I go. As I walked around my tent I noticed that the side without a door was banking up against a puddle of water.It wasn't there when I set up the tent.¢No it wasn't!¢ ¢Aaaiiiiihhh.¢ That's how I say ¢Oh Butter,My tent will be floated away by morning.¢ So I had to remove the very muddy stakes from the tent and pull it to higher ground with all my stuff still inside it and then restake it into the ground. Then I went to the Ladies Room. Have you ever had to move your house before going to the restroom before? It rained all night and the wind blew constantly. When I woke this morning my tent was damp inside as also was the foot part of my sleeping bag. Hmmm. What's a hiker to do? I slept very warm though and the inside of my bag was dry. But when I had to move the tent at near dark I didn't realize that I had put my tent in the Trendelenburg position. (a medical term for having the head lower than the feet,hence all blood goes to the head)Ha! That was for you Michelle. Just trying to keep up on the medical jargon. Yeah,I could have turned my bag around but after all of that tah-doo I was very tired. I didn't suffer any ill effects from it though. I packed up in the rain after having a Poptart and headed out. The trail, of course, was very muddy and slippery. My shoes were soaking wet along with my socks within an hour. Bubbles were squishing out of the top of my boots with every step.Then it happened. I placed my left foot on the side of the trail where there were leaves gathered to try and avoid this huge mud puddle in the trail. My left foot started sliding and I was doing the splits. ¢I didn't want to.¢ So I came down on my right knee into the black mud I was trying to avoid and then onto my left knee,thighs,belly,chest,with my hands catching my fall just before my face hit the mud. It was like slow motion.lol And when a forty pound pack is on your back to increase the momentumthere is no turning back. I very slowly got to my feet (not hurt) and didn't even try to get the mud off because it was raining so hard it was washed off soon anyway. The big climb today was over Kelly Knob. And again no views except I did see some Trillium leaves beginning to bloom. Sweet!I didn't stop at Deep Gap Shelter because I wanted to get to the ¢Vista¢campground to have a shorter hike to to Dick's Creek in the morning. But there was supposed to be water here but I couldn't find any. There was a small trickle south on the AT about a half mile but I didn't think that would have been the camp water source. But whatta I know? Anyway I had enough to make Veggie Rice and Lemon Peppered Tuna, now that was bad.Ha But you have to eat it anyway so you don't have to pack out watered food and you do need the calories. And I had enough to make me a Crystal Light Peach Tea. Man, I just love those little flavorful packs...mmmmmmFull,dry,cozy and warm. Nite all