Date: 2004-06-25
From: Cornelius Creek Shelter

To: Wet and Tired
Miles today: 17.7

It is almost impossible to dry damp clothes at night. The only real solution is to wear them while sleeping, but that is not an option for me. I refuse to sleep with my smelly, damp, hiking shirt. I prefer to put it back on, albeit damp, when I break camp in the morning.The cobwebs were frequent as I hiked during the middle of the morning. They became all the more annoying when it started to rain. I resorted to wiping them from my face¢or trying to wipe them off¢with the edge of my umbrella. I did this because in my other hand was a stick that I was using for leverage. Normally, I wipe away the cobwebs with a bandana which I hold in my other hand.I crossed paths with a southbound hiker. Voila! The cobwebs were gone. He had cleared the trail of them. I had done the same for him on the section of trail that I had just hiked.I took a lunch break in a shelter. Shivers, Susan, Messy Garage and his nephew showed up and joined me. Near it was an outhouse that I described as the "Outhouse from Hell." A loud drone of flies greeted anyone who approached it. The walls, inside and out, were teaming with a voluminous amount of flies. It was so bad that some of us took photos of it. The teenage nephew of Messy Garage drew a sketch of it from a distance away. I wrote the following note in the register: Anyone who attempts to use that outhouse is a truly desperate individual. I have never seen so many flies."The nephew of Messy Garage often sketches into a pad scenes from his hike. I suggested that he take the trail name, Sketch. He agreed.During lunch, Shivers and I wondered if there was a difference between the meanings of the words spider web and cobweb. He suggested that a cobweb might be an old web that has been abandoned by a spider. The rest of the day was a long wet slog. It drizzled on and off for most of the afternoon. Later, the volume of rain increased. The worst part of the day was trying to avoid wet bushes. Like most hikers, I usually hike without wearing rain gear so my perspiration can evaporate. When I brush against wet bushes, it is an uncomfortable sensation.The worst kind of wet bush is a rhododendron. The thick leaves sometimes retain as much water as a teaspoon would hold. To brush against a wet rhododendron bush results in an instant soaking.When I envisioned this journey, I assumed that the width of the Appalachian Trail would be wide   because so many hikers travel upon it. In reality, there are many stretches of this trail where the branches and leaves are reaching into the narrow open space above the pathway. The only solution to this encroaching foliage is teams of volunteers from local trail maintenance clubs who wield hedge cutters.My feet, particularly my joints, were feeling sore by the end of today. I hiked seventeen miles to Matt's Creek Shelter because the alternative, to make camp somewhere else in the rain drenched forest, was unappealing.Shivers and Susan are staying in the shelter. Outside, some Boy Scouts have set up tents.It is raining harder outside the shelter. I am sore and tired. My clothes are damp. The no see-um bugs are pestering me. Will they ease up when I go to turn off my headlamp and go to sleep? This has been a lousy day.