Date: 2012-07-24
From: Green House Hiker Hostel 

To: Big Branch Shelter
Miles today: 16.5
Weather: thunderstorm

Last night it stormed all night long. There was a lot of lightning and strong wind and I had a bed right next to the window so I stayed up late into the night watching the storm. We were up at around 6:00am and arranged to be taken back to the trail at 8:00am. Jeff dropped us off at the trail and left us in the fog to continue going north. It stayed foggy all morning but did not rain. There was a lot of tree rain so we did get a little damp.From the road we went up 1700 feet to the top of Bromley Mountain which is a ski mountain and we hiked up one of the runs to get to the top. At the top we ran into One Speed and he was hunkered down beside one of the buildings trying to stay out of the wind. The wind was really blowing up there and the fog was very thick. We were damp from the tree rain so we were getting cold at the top so we did not stay for long. We went down off of the exposed summit and the wind eased up as we started to warm up.The trail went down 700 feet to a forest road and we took a break there; while we were there the fog lifted and the sun came out so we were happy. From the road the trail went back up another mountain 1200 feet and there was a good view at the top but from there I could also see that there were some rain clouds around so we continued on. The trail continued out the ridgeline before we dropped down to the next shelter but by the time we started down the mountain the dark clouds rolled in and it started to drizzle. It never did rain hard so we did not have to put on the pack covers and just as quick as it rolled in it disappeared and the sun was back out. We got to the shelter and the two weekend hikers from two nights ago were there taking a break and we decided to take a break as well. While we were there One Speed, Jersey and Hill Hiker showed up and took a break as well, we have not seen Jersey since the middle of VA so it was good to see him again. We continued on after a short break and once again dark clouds quickly rolled in and it poured for ten minutes this time then the sun was out again. This time we stopped to put on our pack covers and we got soaked but soon dried out because there was a constant breeze today and the sun came right back out.The trail got really muddy and turned into a swampy mess so we slowed down because we were all slipping and sliding all over the trail. We got to the next shelter at around 4:30pm but decided to keep going to the next one that was only 1.7 miles further up the trail. We were passed by One Speed and Jersey and they said that they were also going to the same shelter for the night and that they would see us there. Not long after they passed us, dark clouds came rolling in again and the wind started to really blow this time and it started to rain again. We had left our pack covers on from the last little rain storm so we just kept hiking north. When we got within 2 tenths of a mile from the shelter to sun came out again and the clouds went away, that¢s the third time that happened today...its kinda cool.When we got to the shelter the two weekend hikers, One Speed and Jersey were in the shelter and they made us room so we could get out of the rain and about 15 minutes after we got there Hill Hiker showed up and we made room for him too. For the rest of the evening it stayed nice and dry so we got to dry out our wet clothes and gear. We finished all our evening chores and just sat around and talked till dark then was time hit the sack...night all.