Date: 2007-06-17
From: Fish Hatchery Road

To: Maupin Field Shelter
Miles today: 18.2
Weather: clear sky

June 17, Rough DayHappy Father's Day, Dad!I've been dreading today's hike since the first time I saw the profile map about a week ago. Tons of climbing no matter which direction you hiked. And hard climbing.Eric drove me to Fish Hatchery Road and then hiked the mile up the road with me - the uphill mile that didn't count toward anything. That mile set the tone for my morning. I wasn't thrilled.I then started hiking uphill even more until I came to Spy Rock. I ventured the 400 feet off of the trail to check it out. It was a big rock. Further uphill, I tried to call my dad to wish him a happy Father's Day to no avail. I was not having fun climbing. I was sleepy and it just wasn't flowing right today.But, things changed a little when, out of nowhere, Ronin caught up to me. We stood and talked for a few minutes and then Young Eagle and Melk showed up - a Team Average reunion! Young Eagle serenaded us with the A-Team theme song. We all hiked together for the rest of the day (well, together but spaced out).We climbed up The Priest and stopped at The Priest shelter where we caught up to Sweetwater. We were all excited to have found each other again! There was no trail register at the shelter so I left the new notebook I'd taken from my bounce box a few days ago. Hopefully when it's full it'll be mailed back to me. How fun and exciting.After a five mile descent (ouch), we met Eric at Tye River for lunch. We rested there for a solid hour, dreading the climb ahead. The Three Ridges were ahead. A series of three climbs that were the reason for all of my dread. They were steep and almost vertical in some sections. We started climbing around 3 p.m. and it was rough but I felt pretty good. We were aiming for the first shelter on the way to stop and get water and we stopped there for about 30 minutes. That climb took a lot of energy out of us.Next up, we tackled the Three Ridges. There were lots of rocks on the way up but I tried to stay steady. Ronin caught up to me after the second ridge and then my energy was sapped. I was hungry again and I just wanted the climbing to stop. Melk and Young Eagle passed me then too. And then we passed Young Eagle. And then he passed me...we were all struggling.I stopped at the summit of the Three Ridges to try my dad again - nothing. About a half hour later, Eric met me and we hiked the rest of the way to the shelter together. I was hurting. I hadn't been that tired in a long time. We made it to the shelter at about quarter to eight, set up our tent, and made dinner. I had alomst forgotten this routine but it was good to be back!-Sound of the breeze blowing.Post Trail Thoughts:Well, it's been a year and I have not received the shelter register from The Priest. It was a small one so I'm going to go ahead and assume I'm not getting it. That's okay...I'll always remember the fun reunion we had at that shelter with the A-Team and Sweetwater.Again, it was nice to have chairs and sit with Eric druing breaks. I think he finally got to see what my daily routine was like at the shelter too so that was interesting for him (according to me). And, one of my favorite memories of Sweetwater was from this night...we were all at the shelter cooking dinner when he walked up and started getting his spot ready in the shelter. He looked utterly pissed off. He apologized to us all and said that we should go one talking as if he wasn't even here - that was just how bad his day had been. We got him to crack a smile at one point but I'll never forget that - I knew it had to be a bad day if Sweetwater, the one who was always smiling, was angry!