Date: 2005-06-09
From: Rusty's Hard Time Hollow

To: Paul C. Wolfe Shelter
Miles today: 16.1
Weather: light rain

By the time I finished writing in my journal this morning, the other hikers were up and moving. Rusty had picked up several cartons of fresh eggs last evening, so I spent a good while making everybody french toast. Afterwards, I satisfied the urge I've had to play horseshoes, a nagging feeling following me since the Fontana Hilltop. Clearwater and I took on Bassline and Touk. It took a while for me to get the hang of it, but we staged a come from behind victory, overcoming a 9-4 deficit to win 11-9. Amazingly, we did it with no ringers or leaners, though I came close several times.I finally managed to drag myself away from the Hollow's comforts by 10am and got back to the trail at 11. I left a note in the register urging people to go to Rusty's. I hope the others I've been hiking with do so, but I have a feeling they won't go. Oh well - it'll be their loss.I returned to my northbound hiking under threatening skies. After several miles, I passed a styrofoam cooler full of empty cans left by a "trail angel." The cooler was dated five days ago, so I'm pretty sure the "angel" isn't coming back. Sure she made a few hikers happy for a couple of minutes, but she also became a litterbug. Some volunteer is going to have to hike out her cooler of trash. Come on, people, show some sense. If you leave something in the woods, come back for it. Don't be a vandal. I've seen this sort of thing happen a lot and it never fails to tick me off.For the past several days we've lucked out weatherwise. I'd cross a mountain top and could see showers either where I was heading or where I'd been. Though the skies would turn black they never cut loose. Gozar and I figured the cosmic karma was building and we were due for a downpour of biblical proportions. We finally got a good shower this afternoon, but while I got soaked it wasn't the prophesied flood. Still, it did rain pretty hard for a while with special emphasis given to the times I was on an exposed ridge. But once it cleared I had a cool, beautiful afternoon for hiking. There's something to be said for air that's just been cleaned by a good, hard rain. I watched mesmerized from Humpback Rock as fog lifted from cloud filled valleys below.I arrived at the shelter by six, far earlier than I thought I would make it. As I suspected, Gozar opted to push on for town rather than stay. However, after 19 miles I was ready to settle in. It was a nice shelter so I joined Loose Goose and a section hiker inside. We were soon joined by Clearwater and Dutch Apple Pie. Stiltz came by but pushed on. Around the shelter conversations about food were all the rage. Clearwater and I mentioned Nutella, which Loose Goose had never heard of. It was fun to watch him get excited about the prospects of a chocolate hazelnut spread.I also saw my first bear of the trip! It was a yearling, springing up the hill not twenty yards from the shelter. I had a good view of him for twenty seconds or so. Bears sure can move when motivated.Finally, I'd like to remind you that we didn't get the biblical flood this afternoon. It came this evening, validating my decision to stay in this nice, dry shelter instead of my tarp. I'm sure I would have stayed dry in my tarp, but it always is a pain to pack up a wet tarp in the morning.[Note - milage of 16.1 is AT milage, 19 miles include hiking back from Rusty's]