Date: 2014-04-01
From: Birch Spring Gap

To: Spence Field Shelter
Miles today: 10.8
Weather: few clouds

In which the word for the day is MUD....and sunshine.I got up and out about 0900ish this morning after a wild night. The bard owls were calling back and forth. I love listening to them. It's just so soothing. So soothing they lulled me to sleep. It was the next unidentified animal that woke me up and scared the $@#$# out of me. In the morning we all conferred with each other and none of us knew what it/they were. It was suggested maybe it was a screech owl or a bobcat or such. The sound was piercing followed by yipping and howling and all sorts of noises. The best part was that the noises sounded like they were right outside my tent until they moved to the next ridge over for the next go around. At the same time I heard that initial noise I looked up in time to see a mouse running down the outside of my tent under the fly. That was followed by some hikers "night hiking" who were skipping down the trail hollering "Nite Hike!" (I later identified who they were). Fears are amplified and on steroids at night. Likewise, my imagination runs wild and my hearts races with all sorts of crazy sounds. Not much sleep happened! But it's a new day with new adventures around each corner.Today those adventures came in the form of MUD; thick, slippery, two plus inches deep, one plus foot wide trails' worth of mud interlaced with rocks for hopping across. Throw in some melting ice and the trail was a sloppy concoction of a mess. Mud was entwined with my shoe laces, colored my shoes brown, was strewn across my legs, infiltrated my socks and rubbed a blister on my right heal-ouch. It was glorious for any big kid who likes to play in the mud which I guess I did. The mud was simply unavoidable. It was easier to commit to getting muddy than to try to tip toe through the mud, more fun that way too. So that's what I did today until I got to the shelter.I got to the shelter around 1530, claimed my spot on the loft in the shelter, collected water and sat in the warm sun. Cheese Steak, Inflammable and Malibu were here. Ray Charles and Trudge eventually showed up, followed my Magic Man and The Rock, then Griz and Blonde. This was quite an entertaining bunch. Who needs a TV or a campfire for entertainment when you have characters! I cooked my dinner and crawled into my bag around 2030, late for me! That's when the real fun began!I was lying there in my bed listening to the conversations and activity outside the shelter. Someone went to collect more firewood by the perimeter of the shelter and came running back saying "there's something down there"! Evidently eyes where seen, they were either red or green depending upon who you asked. Things quieted down for a little bit. Then the same scenario happened except this time someone yelled "bear"! And everyone screamed and went running to hide behind the picnic table in front of the shelter. This was followed by someone else yelling "April Fool's"! So much laughter happened after that. I was howling in my sleeping bag laughing out loud. Was just so funny especially since Cheese Steak and I this morning were saying wouldn't it be funny if....someone did exactly what was just done. I'm cracking myself up now just writing about it. Guess you had to be there, hiker humor!