Date: 2015-08-21
From: Trapper John Shelter

To: Hexacube Shelter
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: overcast clouds

I woke up to two distinct sounds: raindrops falling slowly on my tent and Tedzilla packing up in a hurry. I groaned and swore a little because it felt like I just got to sleep. It was about 6am, my usual wake up time. I liked Tedzilla's idea of keeping the tent dry so I double timed getting my stuff semi- packed and ran it bit by bit to the shelter. I got my tent down but not packed before it got wet. D.No and C.Shell were right behind us and we all sat in the shelter, ate, and repacked as the rain really cranked up and came down. Made it just in time! Luigi was in the shelter, a NOBO flip flopper who started in New York, and another guy who planned to hang out and keep dry there. Weather underground showed 100% chance of rain all day, eyeballs confirmed it.We had a couple of big climbs ahead and I was skittish about climbing in the rain. Rock slip and falls had spanked me to a whimpering mess back in New Jersey and Southern CT, but I had different boots then. And my recent scare with lightning was on my mind, my ears still ringing maddeningly and burns just barely healed. However, the thing about this trail is that you don't get anywhere unless you actually do put one foot in front of the other. Yeah. That's how it works. The justification power we are born with is a powerful anti- progress mechanism, and more and more I can jump the hurdles that voice loves to throw in front of me. We hiked out, sans rain jackets since we knew we were climbing and would heat up. Up Smarts mountain. The hike was fabulous. It was cool and raining, but the clouds were quiet. No thunder and no lightning. Just the sound of the rain and my boots and my poles and my breathing. We were in the green tunnel going up. The hike was nice, the trail relatively smooth with a few rocks and roots. The grade wasn't bad either. My legs are doing great, I am feeling very confident! We got to the southern summit of Smarts Mountain and were blown away by the view on Lamberts Ridge. Just incredible! The peaks in the distance were covered with clouds, it was misty and raining, but it was amazing and also the only view we would have on either of the Smarts Mountain Peaks so I'm glad we stayed a while to appreciate it. We took turns taking pictures of each other looking at the view. The rock we posed on had a stomach lurching drop straight down. Back into the woods we went, on to tackle the Northern summit, much higher and steeper up. Here is where the trail got interesting. Some might call it gnarly. Long uphills on granite slabs that seemed to have no end. Rock climbs steep enough to have to use my hands to to get up and over. One of the granite faces was steep enough that trail maintainers had installed rebar rungs for footing. I was really unsure of doing this in the rain, memories of my twisted ankles and bruised backside flooded my mind. I was listening to Bill Walkers's book about his adventures on the PCT yesterday, and one piece of advice he got was this: sometimes you have to just have faith in your boots.I tested the grip from my boots on those wet rocks and it felt pretty solid. So I put all of my faith in my kick-ass Salamons and headed up. I left my fear and my hesitation at the bottom of the hill and climbed up. Once I let go of those bad experiences I had a few states ago, I felt lighter and stronger. I climbed and enjoyed the beauty of the rugged terrain. I reveled in the technical climbing. This is just a preview, a teaser, of what is to come.I made it to the fire tower but it was closed for repairs. There were no views anyway, the mountain was completely covered in clouds and fog. We walked to the fire wardens cabin and sat inside and ate lunch out of the rain. It was a small wood cabin, no heat or electricity, and available to hikers as a shelter.D.No and C.Shell were eating almond butter. I told them about a market that opened near my house where you could grind your own almond butter. D.No then wondered how the heck almond milk was made."Do almonds have little teats"? He asked? Then he imitated milking a tiny almond, sound effects included. "Weet-weet-weet"That's rainy day crazy talk. Tedzilla , C.Shell and I were cracking up, Luigi was amused.We hiked on. The descent from Smarts Mountain was surprisingly easy. Almost like it was a different mountain. Smooth, not many rocks, easy. The woods started to remind me of the Smokies in certain places. The roots of the trees were red and alive looking, like arteries. The trees were covered with what looked like algae. We wanted a 15 or so mile day, but because of the rain and apparent scarcity of stealth sites, we decided to stop at Hexacube Shelter. On the way up Cube Mountain, we stopped at Eastman Ledges. The sun had come out and the clouds were dissipating rapidly. Blue painted the sky in bold brush strokes as we sat and watched. C.Shell laid her tent out to dry on the rocks. After everyone hiked out, I stayed behind for another hour enjoying the scenery. Luigi arrived and was also captivated. I'm so lucky to see this, I thought. We watered up at the bottom of the hill and climbed up a long side trail to the shelter. Only one guy was there. The tent sites were sloping, so I opted to stay in the shelter. It was 5 sided and airy and clean. A group of 11 Harvard students hiked in with what appeared to be small cars strapped to their backs. They had tarps but 4 stayed in the shelter.This was a good day for me, and a turning point in my confidence level.