Date: 2005-08-29
From: Mink Creek

To: Trapper John Shelter
Miles today: 8.3
Weather: light rain

It had quit raining by the time we started stirring around. It is always a challenge for me to put soaking wet clothes on in the mornings.It is akin to jumping under a cold shower on a cool fall day. We decided to forego hot drinks and a hot breakfast,choosing instead to eat bagels with peanut butter and jelly. We had no sooner started hiking than the rain started again. Within minutes we were soaked to the skin. We have seen so many varieties of mushrooms along the trail and Papermaker is obsessed with having a bowl of mushroom soup. I wish we had a better idea of which mushrooms a person can eat and live to tell about it. Just before we started this hike we went to Creede Colorado for their annual mushroom festival. We spent all days traversing in the woods picking anything that looked like a mushroom. Then we all gathered back at the community center and a micologist determined which ones were edible and which ones weren't. The ones that were edible ,his staff made different dishes from them for us to sample. There is a big difference between that scenario and where we were today. But oh how we did dream of mushroom dishes! We made it to Moose Mountain Shelter for lunch. Several times before arriving there we thought we would never make it as the assent up Moose Mountain was a killer for us. Hanover was a mere 425' and Moose Mountain's southern peak was 2290 ft. We hung our shirts on a line in hopes of them drying out somewhat. It would be like putting clothes in the dryer and never turning it on,expecting them to dry. But we had our hopes anyway and the sun had peeked out for just a few minutes. We were sooned joined by thru hikers Seeker,Elf and Mataeo. They got into a lively discussion about positive attitudes and how they affect one's thinking. I soon renamed Elf, PMA which stands for positive mental attitude. We fixed a hot lunch since we did not know if we would make it to the next shelter tonight. Thanks to Hurrican Ivan and the MRE's we had leftover,we dined on hamburger patty,Mexican Macaroni and Cheese and Western Beans. It was kind of like a homemade Hamburger Helper. We convinced ourselves it was delicious and headed back up the trail. By mid afternoon and just as we were begining to dry out somewhat,the sky opened up and a hard rain fell for the rest of the afternoon. We heard from a southbound hiker with a radio that Hurricane Katrina went ashore close to the mouth of the Mississippi,sparing Northwest Florida a direct hit. We were releived to hear that news,but still concerned for the folks in the path of the storm. We were goingto try to make it to Trapper John Shelter for the night. Our hiking legs seemed to be coming on,and we both felt pretty good for no longer than we had been on the trail. Water still seems to be an issue,although with the rain today,we are hoping for a better supply. We were making really good time when we started the climb up to Holt's Ledge. There is a peregrine rookery there and we hoped to get a glance of some falcons. But the clouds would not relent and all we saw were the tops of our hiking boots as we struggled up and over the ledge. By late afternoon we were convinced that we would not make it to the shelter. We decided to hike another 45 minutes and start looking for a tent site. We crossed a small stream and since we needed water anyway,we stopped. Before I knew it Papermaker had his shoes off and plunged his feet into the cold stream. Of course he was filtering water in very close proximity to his feet and I had to wonder if our filter had any protection against athlete's foot. I finally pried him loose from the water and within a few minutes of hiking the side trail to the shelter came into view. The shelter was three tenths of a mile off of the AT and of course down hill. We were greeted by Seeker,Mataeo,and Elf and later Panda came in. Panda is from the UK and to his credit he tried to get a nice fire going for all of us to enjoy. Had not a severe thunderstorm came up,we would have all enjoyed some warmth and possibly some dry socks. But we were soon sent to our tent as Mother Nature let loose with an evenings entertainment of thunder,lightning and lots of rain. Papermaker had just spent an enormous amount of time looking for his headlamp,then his toilet paper before heading off to the privy. As hard as it was storming I feared that he might have to spend the night there rather than in the tent,but the rain abated somewhat and he scrurried back to the tent. He informed me that this was a privy different than any other,so I will check it out in the daylight and see what he is talking about.Bumpkin                           5 Million Steps for Polio Appalachian Trail GA-MA Bumpkin More in 2004