Date: 2019-04-08
To: Muskrat Creek shelter
Miles today: 4.4
Weather: overcast clouds

April 8 (Day 16): Woke up to fog but no rain and no rain during the night. Pebbles was feeling weak but a little better. David was feeling sluggish, as he put it. But we all wanted to get the hell out of Bly Gap! We ate breakfast because David hadn't eaten since yesterday and really needed something in his stomach. Pebbles nibbled on half a tortilla shell and Funshine ate her granola. We packed up and started off.We knew the way out was up (is there any other direction??) and we had seen the log steps, but when we got up the first 10 or so and turned the ¢corner¢ in the trail, it was log steps all the way up the mountain! I don't know who installed the steps but some of the steps came to my knees! I really had to climb up to get up those steps. Thank God for trekking poles!It was a tough climb and for 4 people trying to recuperate from a bad stomach virus, it was really tough! Even recuperating from norovirus, Pebbles could still out hike us. The woman is a hiking machine! :)We hiked to Muskrat Creek shelter, about 4.4 miles, and met up with Diesel and Nash. It was about 12:30. We were so happy to have our tramily back together!!!Each shelter has a carved wooden sign outside it telling you the name of the shelter. The carved sign outside the Muskrat Creek shelter said ¢SHEETER¢. The prediction was for rain during the day and then then thunderstorms that night. Having been sick we wanted to make sure we got a space in the shelter. The shelters in GA had at least 2 floors. We even came across a 2 floored one. In NC the shelters are only 1 floor so space is limited. We knew that the virus we had was highly contagious so we told the 2 guys in the shelter that we had been sick but we really needed to be in the shelter because of the bad weather coming. One guy ended up packing up and leaving. That gave us the 4 slots we needed but also left us feeling bad that we drove him away.The other guy turned out to be Laptop, the guy on Blood Mtn carrying the 80-pound pack! When he booked past us on the trail I made the comment that he looked familiar but I couldn't place him. After Blood Mtn, he had gone into Neels Gap and sent home 50-pounds of stuff. He was flying now!The rain started within 30 minutes after we got there and continued off and on throughout the day. But when it would rain, it would pour down in sheets!Three women came into the and one of them had problems with her tent and everything was soaked. She hoped to stay in the shelter. We were honest again (about being sick) and the three of them decided to brave the rain and stay in their tents. I was sitting at the picnic table and one of the ladies was sitting next to me. We we're discussing being sick and she turned her back to me. I said ¢Gee, I feel like a leper.¢ I understood her fear of getting sick, but that just seemed really rude.As the rain continued, more and more people began coming into the shelter looking for a dry place for the night. By evening, with the rain and thunder, no one seemed to care about getting sick. They just wanted to be dry.More great conversation and met a new hiker named Redline. Maik and Tanja showed up too. Hadn't seen them since Blairsville.By bedtime we had 11 hikers jammed into a 6-man shelter. One slept on the picnic table and 4 took the dirt floor. Six of us were on the wood floor of the shelter. Everyone was settling down to sleep by 8:30.And the rain continued...