Date: 2017-05-18
From: Brink Shelter

To: Rutherford shelter
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: clear sky

5/18Tented at Rutherford Shelter15 milesPretty much everybody else in the shelter slept in their underwear last night. It was blasted hot. I'm too paranoid about bugs so I slept with my silk liner over me. It worked great! Sometime in the dark of the night I pulled my sleeping quilt out of the bag and dragged it over my shoulders. It was perfect. Well before dawn, as the birds got loud, I gave up sleeping. I was motivated to get to the road to the deli. A cold coke, a breakfast bagel..  talk about your powerful impetus. I sat up, grabbed my hygiene bag, and put drops in my right eye. I immediately realized that in the dark I had in fact grabbed my dropper bottle of concentrated liquid soap. As I gasped in pain, I fumbled for the actual eye drops to flush my eye out as well as possible. The soap has since been relocated to a different bag. The agony slowed me down but I still packed up and hit the trail before six. I chugged on, dreaming of breakfast. Peanuts and Splash passed me quickly, starting another 25 mile day. Shortly after that I found out how worn out my shoes are as they slipped on rocks and I fell down. I was okay and took advantage of the break to eat a cookie before I got up. Reaching the road, I was dismayed to find the deli empty and closed. I checked other businesses and couldn't even find a coke machine. I returned to the deli to sit on the hiker bench to eat some kind of breakfast. Not what I really wanted, but it was good enough. I headed up the mountain, looking for Gren Anderson Shelter so I could get water. I had planned on getting water at the deli so this was a big deal. I had run dry before I got to the stream just before the shelter. It was colored with tannins but met my need. I think. I haven't died from it yet anyway. A little after noon I got up to Sunrise Mountain Pavilion and sat down on the cold stone to cool off. I had some new blisters forming so I pulled off my socks and then found a tick attached to my foot. I don't understand why he was attached under my permethrined sock. Wouldn't he have had to crawl down? Under tight clothes? Ticks typically crawl up. I guess this one was a rebel. Fortunately I looked it up and found it was a dog tick, not a deer tick. In theory dog ticks don't carry Lyme. I trudged on, carrying the heavy and gradually diminishing four liters of water I had gotten from the stream. When I arrived at Mashipacong Shelter I settled in to wait out the hottest hours of the day, eating snacks and drinking water. Peregrina showed up soon after. She found that the bear box had gallons of fresh water, and even two sodas! (And a beer.) I helped myself to a Pepsi and a liter of water. Big Bird arrived and decided to stay. Finally at five Peregrina and I set out for the next shelter. We had a lovely chat over the next couple of miles. Rutherford Shelter is .4 miles off the trail so I've never gone to it, but it had the attraction of actually having water. And it puts me that much closer to Unionville tomorrow. I'm back on schedule to meet JD and Neon. Amelia Earhart was in her tent when we got here. The three of us had a nice time around the picnic table, then I dove into my tent. When I got undressed I found heat rash covering much of me. Good times! I hope it doesn't get worse. I've had to take days off because of it before. My salt encrusted clothing can't be helping. It's supposed to rain tonight and break this hot weather. I don't even care about my tent getting wet. I'm just happy it'll be cooler tomorrow.