Date: 2003-08-09
From: Camped short of Garfield Pond

To: Camped 1/2 mile past Zealand Falls Hut
Miles today: 12.0

Another wet day¢¦ I am sitting here tented in the rain, journaling. The day started out very poorly, my back was very stiff and sore (and I was still a bit dopey from the muscle relaxer¢¦ Hmm¢¦ I¢m always a bit dopey¢¦). After 4 Advil and a muscle relaxer last night, I slept like a baby. I got up, packed, and with a lot of help from Wench I got my pack on (she had to hold it up for me). We climbed up and over Mt Garfield, got water at the Garfield Ridge campsite, and hit the Galehead Hut at lunch time. I ate my Peanut butter and honey sandwiches with a bowl of Veggie soup and some Ginger bread. A weird combo, but yummy. Then we loaded up with water and headed up Twin Peaks (it was semi clear, so we could see Mt Garfiels for a bit from the Hut). It was cloudy on top of South Twin Peak, then we hiked along and up Mt Guyot (some views here in between clouds and fog), then down past a nice vista with semi cloudy views. Here is where the rain started and continued until just before we got to the Zealand Falls Hut. On the way, the trail turned into a river, and we waded our way through it. Slippery ups and downs, slides, slips, and MUD! We were soaked inside and out. The high point of the day was a stream crossing south of the Zealand Falls Hut. The water was a foot deep, and rushing fast, a cataract of water (and just downstream was a BIG waterfall, so we REALLY didn¢t want to fall in here). I went first, because I was heavier and had longer legs (I had to throw my pack across first). I had lots of trouble getting my foot planted and finding somewhere to wedge a pole in the fast moving water. Every time I tried to get a foot planted, I could feel it getting pulled down stream, and my pole, forget it, it took forever to get it wedged somewhere useful. Finally, I got my foot wedged in place in the water, and put my pole in a position (I wedged my pole in a crack, and got my foot into an indentation in the rock). The next move was a leap of faith to the other bank, I put all my weight onto the foot and pole in the water, and jumped across onto the other bank (this bank was smooth rock with water flowing over it, so it wasn¢t easy to stay balanced, I almost fell back into the water). But I was across, and Wench was next¢¦ It was obvious right away that she couldn¢t get over the same way, her legs weren¢t long enough. She was going to have to get both feet into the water and shuffle across against the current. My stream crossing scared me, but hers scared me more. It was going to be harder to keep her from going down stream, and I didn¢t want to have to jump in after her if she fell (but knowing full well that I would, so I better get a good grip on her as she got within my grasp). So she planted a foot in the water, and once she got a pole in place, she leaned towards my bank and we locked hands on each others wrists. Then she slowly shuffle stepped her way across the creek and I pulled her up onto the bank¢¦ It¢s always scarier when it¢s someone else that might get hurt. Never a dull moment on the AT. So we strolled the rest of the way to the Zealand Hut and took a break, dumped the water out of our boots, wrung out our socks, checked to see if we could get work for stay (nope), said hi to some Southbounders and headed up the trail to camp at a stealth site the Hut Croo told us about. So here we sit in our tents, listening to the rain as we eat and journal, instead of being warm in a Hut. Oh well, maybe next time. NOTE: My back is tender, but not hurting like last night (so far). Life is good!