Date: 2007-11-28
From: Jenkins Shelter

To: Knot Maul Branch Shelter
Miles today: 19.0
Weather: clear sky

mi. 19sleep shelterdest. Knot Maul Branch Shelter day 139 Last night was freakin cold!! I think my sleeping bag is no longer up for 15 degrees. When I woke up this morning the temp in the shelter was 25. I was wearing my windproof fleece hat, 100 wt fleece top, and mid weight smartwool long underwear. Surprisingly enough my feet were not cold. What was were my legs. The lack of socks might have played a role in that. I had to put my down jacket that I usually use as a pillow inbetween my knees overtop my legs. I am thinking my big loss of body fat also plays a role in being cold. I decided on a couple things today. When I putt around in the morning that sets the mood for the whole day. I didn't get started until almost 9am. I couldn't get started in the cold. The second thing is that on the cold mornings I just need to get up and get moving. I am fine after I get out of bed, it's just that inital motion. The last thing is I drink way more water when I use a hydration system. When I have to set down my pack to drink, I don't drink that much. I think I only drank 1 liter over the course of the whole day's hiking yesterday. I should have drank up last night or this morning, but that would have been too smart. Instead I hiked out with just 2 liters. Which is the usual. I was just more dehydrated to start off the day that I thought. Over the course of the whole morning I was thirsty. I stopped and drank some, but I didn't want to run out. Word had it in the register that the spring 9 miles away was dry. That ment the first water for the day would be 12 miles in. Well it was dry alright. In addition to being dry it had deer guts where the pool should be. It was a piped spring, so if it was flowing I still might be able to get something. But come on. This is my 3rd run in with deer guts in 2 days. In the freakin spring no less. The spring was just off the trail next to a forest road. I personally have nothing against hunters. But stuff like this doesn't make any friends in the hiking world. I was down to a liter at this point. I looked down the road a little and saw something. I walked down a little to see a building. Probibly a cabin. There was also a locked gate with a few stay away signs. Now in the middle of nowhere VA during hunting season I thought it better not to walk down there in search of water. Had I been worse off I would have. Today was another case too of stopping at a good place for lunch that would make a great place to stay. The shelter was ontop a mountain, but it was a bald. Not a natural one, just an open field. It was an old fire wardens cabin. I could see where the old tower used to be. There was a fire place inside, but of course it was filled in. It was an enclosed building. It had great views all around. Today turned out to be a nice day. The sun was out and it wasn't too cold. But it had no water. I also had just enough food to make it too town tomorrow. I finally got to the water source 2 miles later. I wasn't hurting, but I could tell I needed some water. The spring had a little cisturn to collect the water. It then feed a pond. I sat there and drank close to 3 liters of water. It also turned into snack time. The water was fantasic. When I was done I was still thirsty, but my stomach was full. I did learn that it takes 43 half full dips from my cup to fill up my 3 liter water bladder. Only 11 to fill my gatoraid bottle. The shallow pools call for dipping using the cup off of my jet boil. Now rumor had it from the register of the shelter I stayed at last night that water was hard to come by after here. After the way I felt coming into here, I didn't want to chance it. So I filled up with 4 liters. That info turned out to be very bad. Now I didn't mind too much carrying the extra 2 liters for most of the time. Most of the last 7 miles was flat-ish or downhill. But there was there was a good 700 foot climb to get over the last little bump. Just to rub it in, there was 2 good streams before the bump. And even better a decent one 1 mile or so from the shelter. Got to love the info you get sometimes. I figured it up yesterday and I went 50 hours without talking to or seeing anyone. Then it was only for a couple minutes to a hunter at a road. It was been a day and a half since then. I think I am going to go into town with only talking to someone once in 4 days. I'm actually ok with that. I was kind of disappointed to talk with him. I wanted to see how many days I could go. The radio helps out a ton with that. I'm not going lie, I did try to use my phone from the shelter. But no signal. I am making some headway on the people in front. Missinglink and her hiking partner are only half a day or less in front. I should catch them within the next couple days. Depending on how long theirs and my resupply takes. There is also a group of 3 guys only a day or so in front. They haven't signed in for a few shelters. I should be seeing them at some point. I am sheltering once again. I was going to hammock, but after cooking dinner I decided just to throw the pad down in the shelter and get in my bag. I'll have to hammock soon. I am starting to turn into a shelter rat. That is definitly something I wouldn't of believed if you told me before I left. Now I am just throwing this out. The shelter I am staying at has a firepit kind of close to it. With the direction the shelter is facing, given the right wind conditions the shelter just might fill up with smoke. I'm sure that would make the mice happy. I am not saying I did this or anything. I just wanted to throw that out there.