Date: 2003-06-12
From: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter

To: Laurel Creek Shelter
Miles today: 18.5
Weather: broken clouds

Erin says:Today was not one of my best trail days. I was pretty tired after our 19.7 mile day yesterday and it was tough to get going this morning. We were the last to leave the shelter as usual. We did however catch up to and pass JimboTrek at the first shelter. But soon after that the trail turned into large wet rocks. My favorite. For a good solid 45 minutes I had to try to keep myself upright. The rocks really hurt my feet and ankles. Craig does really well on the rocks, he was way ahead of me. We ended up getting to War Spur faster than I thought we would though. It started thundering and the rain came as we were approaching the shelter. I sprinted to catch up to Craig and we ended up doing something close to 3 miles in the hour before the shelter.Free Radical, Prarie Chicken, and Crow Dog were hanging out at the shelter. They decided they would all stay there instead of trying for 18.5 because of the rain. I was pretty psyched to try an 18.5 day right after a 19.7 - it would be our biggest 2-day mileage. Well, my excitement quickly took a yucky turn. I was reaching into my top pouch at the shelter to grab the data book(Craig and I were just taking a break from the rain), and something in my pouch sliced the top of my middle finger on my right hand. I didn't even have time to figure out what happened. I reached into my top pouch and immediately yanked my hand back out - ouch! Sharp pain followed by dripping blood. I immediately stuck my finger in my mouth to suck up the blood. When I pulled it back out I realized that the cut was really deep, sort of like a gorge, not just a clean slice. I was missing a huge chunk of flesh. I asked Craig for gauze and wrapped my finger and sort of just sat on the edge of the shelter in a daze. Then I started to get nasseaus. The nasseau turned into that panicked feeling of "oh my god, I'm going to pass out." I didn't want to make a scene in front of everyone at the shelter. I mean, it was just a cut! But I felt really sick all of a sudden. I've never felt like passing out before or throwing up after an injury. So I got up and walked around to the side of the shelter and hung out for a little while trying to keep it together. And poor Craig, I know he was ready to get moving again so we'd make it to the next shelter by dark.By the time I felt well enough to keep hiking, it was after 6pm. We should have stayed at War Spur Shelter instead of trying to go 6+ more miles to make it to Laurel Creek Shelter. We had a really steep climb, one that kept on going and going. We got to a road where there was trail magic - a cooler full of EMPTY pepsi cans. We were too late. They were all gone. That was a momentum killer. I had to keep stopping because I was getting blisters and my pruned feet were really painful from the rain and being in wet socks all day. It got dark quickly and foggy on the ridge making it very difficult to see the trail. Headlamps are of no use in the fog. Craig led the way and we slowly made our way down to the shelter. We both tripped and stumbled a lot because the trail was wet and rocky. I was not in the best of spirits by the time we arrived at around 10 pm. Of course everyone in the shelter was already asleep and we had to figure out where to tent. We got the tent set up and are treating ourselves to a little whiskey to nurse the day's wounds. We're not going to hang our food bags tonight either. My feet are deteriorating. Blisters and pain.