Date: 2005-04-23
From: Wise Shelter

To: Trimpi Shelter, VA
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: light rain

Aha! My first 20 mile day. Nice to know that I can do such a thing, but boy did that last mile hurt. Of course, it seems like the last mile (or whenever I think I'm close to the day's destination) of any day is always long and painful. All in my head, I suppose, but I made sure to take some ibuprofen when I got here...But anyways, the rains were full force last night. And the swirling winds gave me a faceful of mist a few times. Not so much refreshing. Woke up at 3 a.m. when Biscuit's dog, Cola, started woofing at something in the darkness. The humans stared out of the shelter looking for a bear or other interesting creature, but saw none. After this I was up for a little while, then dozed off. I woke again to find Biscuit smacking at the food bags hanging from the ceiling. Just then a mouse came popping out of one of the bags. My bag. Damn. Of course, the one night I didn't hang my food in a tree it becomes a feast for vermin. The little bastard only managed to break into a sleeve of crackers, so it could have been worse. The tin can on the string meant to keep the mouse from scurrying down to the food bag was no match for our furry little friend. Watched him go up and down a couple times before I took the bag down and sat it next to the dog. At some point after, the sun came up. A lady leading a group of backpackers was over in the morning with lots of treats for the three of us in the shelter. A former thru-hiker herself, she must've known we would enjoy the extra food. At blastoff, the sun was shining. I wondered if it had really been necessary to hike from the last shelter the evening before. My answer came a half hour later. As I was walking across an open area, the sky blackened, the wind howled and the rains came down. Good call. After walking a short ways back into the trees, and out of the sideways rain, I was satisfied that I made a good choice. The rains continued most of the morning with a brief respite every now and then. The temperature never really got above 45 either, so it was a battle to try and keep warm. On the uphills, you're working hard and can stay warm easier. On the downhills and flats, it's a little more challenging. You can only go so fast and it's not as easy to generate heat. And of course, after a little while walking in the rain, you get soaked either by water coming in the raingear, or sweat from the greenhouse you've created or both. For the most part, I was fine as long as I kept moving. Didn't do a long stop for lunch, I just did some quick snack breaks during the day and kept moving. Sometime around 1, the sun began to tease us. Rain clouds broke, and blue sky would be revealed, only to be covered right back up by clouds. Then rain. Then sleet. Then the sun would come out. Then it would rain. Then it would snow. Don't like the weather? Wait 20 minutes. By about mile 17, I stopped by the road to eat another snack. Raz came up behind and asked if I was going into town. Troutdale was a mere 3 miles away with a cheap hostel as well. I fought the urge to go in with him and then watched as he scored a hitch to town almost immediately. Figures. So I got up and kept hiking. Yes sir, I am a manly man. I'll just save my "wimp-out-because-it's-cold-and-wet" card in case I need it later. As if on cue, the snow started falling again. Nope, no punching out of this one. And on I hiked. I scared up a couple white tailed deer again, this time I just saw the white tails moving away, and nearly got blown off of Hurricane Ridge. It might not really have been Hurricane Ridge per se, but I crossed a "hurricane ridge trail" a couple times nearby. I was on a ridge. It was windy. Maybe that's putting two and two together, maybe not. After that, the longest mile, then to the shelter. About nine here, all folks I know. But then, that's the norm here. I think by this point I'd have to go a lot faster or a lot slower for that to change any. Such is life.