Date: 2012-04-22
From: Hurricane Mountain Shelter

To: Partnership Shelter
Miles today: 19.7
Weather: light rain

I woke up this morning to almost silence. This is never a good sign. So I peeked out of my sleeping bag and confirmed that yes, yes it is raining and that is why the birds are not singing. Whine, groan, complain...I don't wanna. I'll just stay here in my warm sleeping bag. boo hoo. And why WHY??? is it so cold too. It is the end of April in Virginia. It should be warmer. All of us in the shelter were bemoaning the weather when someone spoke up with, "well today it's all downhill" which began one of the most humorous early morning conversations I've had out here. It went something like this. "someone says that every day. It's never down hill." "The only time it'll be all downhill is coming off Katahdin." "And then we'll be complaining that we already did this part." "No then you play 'don't touch the ground' challenge." "yeah by then, when you break your ankle you've earned the right to be helicoptered off that mountain." hahahaha okay maybe you had to be there. I was really dragging my feet today, and was last to leave the shelter. but finally I headed out with my pack cover/ rain jacket on and started down the hill with the rain instantly letting me know that it was going to be a fun fun day today.And actually it was. Within the first two hours the rain stopped and although the sky didn't clear up, I was able to take off my jacket and move along quite normally. The first half of the terrain today was a walk in the park. Smooth evenly compacted dirt and slopes that went up and down gradually winding their way around the splinter shoots of mountains. It was also the first time I've really noticed the canopy starting to come in. Everything above me was light green enhanced by all the water in the air. and there was a very pretty section over a bridge crossing in front of some falls. If it wasn't for the fact that it was getting colder and colder, I probably would have lingered more to enjoy a lot of the scenery. But weather dictates the day.I did have a treat when I walked down to the midway shelter for lunch to find it was one of the few with a fireplace. one that drafted well and had a crackling fire going. instant external warmth. what a wonderful feeling. most everyone i hiked with yesterday was there lingering near it's warmth, resisting heading back t the chilly dampness and another 10 miles before we rest. but if there is anything that can encourage thru hikers to leave a fire it's the promise of food. oUr final destination shelter today is right near the Mt Rogers visitor shelter. what this really means is that you can have pizza delivered! Also this shelter has a shower! so even though I was tired and not feeling the will to hike, I kept going looking forward to the promise of food and cleanliness. Wow this is a really nice shelter. It's two stories with a ladder going up to the fully enclosed roof peak. we had 8 girls here tonight and pretty much took over the top. I didn't end up taking a shower because it wasn't heated. A shower that doesn't have hot water is not a shower, it is a vertical creek. so I passed on that but totally ordered pizza with everyone else. hmmm sooooooo good. I also got to make friends with max who is this amazingly fun, adorable dog that I was all over. the ominous talk of the night was that snow is predicted. I reassured everyone that it was very unlikely to happen this late in April and even if it did, it wouldn't stick. but it was cold. so we all retreated up to the attic to our sleeping bags. What a hilarious slumber party mood we had cracking jokes and laughing. there's not really anything specifically I can remember, just a lot of deadpan hilarity.