Date: 2016-05-11
From: Hogback Ridge Shelter

To: Bald Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: overcast clouds

Today I woke up and it had rained for most of the night. It was still raining off and on in the morning and I figured I would sleep in since I was only planning on doing 10 miles today. Every time I tired to go back to sleep I was woken back up by some loud thunder. I could start to hear all of the other hikers start to rustle around and I could not sleep anymore. I was lucky that I camped right next to the shelter so I could bring all of gear into the shelter and back it out of the rain. It was nice to be able to just sit in the dry shelter and eat my pop tarts before hitting the trail. About 5 miles into the trail I realized I did not remember backing my wallet and was so worried that I lost it. So in the middle of the woods I unpacked everything and found it at the bottom of my pack. It was such a pain to repack in the rain. The morning was a little rough since it was raining most of the morning. If would stop for a little but then would pick right back up again. I was getting a little concerned about the storm coming since I could still hear thunder. I reached a meadow with Dregs and chickhawk on top of a ridge and the storm broke for a little to be able to really enjoy the view. It was one of the first really nice views on the trail so far because almost every view has been fogged in. It was really cool to walk across the bald and it was so open to see all around. I had to start working my way up the mountain now to reach the top of bald mountain. The climb was not too bad and a lot of the trail was winding around the mountain and not straight up it. As I was making my way up the mountain I could see Dregs and Chickenhawk in the distance and I saw a cooler on the ground. I did not get too excited at first since usually they are empty. When I approached I could tell that they were enjoying some snacks. It was an interesting place for a cooler since I had been going up hill for a few miles and had not seen an access point. I wonder how they got the cooler there. When I opened the cooler there were cookies, hard boiled eggs and milk. I was a little hesitant at first since you never know how long but there was still ice and I had a hard boiled egg. I was not going to have any milk but another hiker named bubblehead showed up and said that it hit the spot. I had a glass of cold milk and it really hit the spot. It helped me propel myself up to the top of the mountain. I grabbed a cookie to go that was in plastic bag to eat as I hiked. I realized about a half mile after the trail magic I had lost my cookie. I must have dropped it on the trail. I finally reached the top of bald mountain and the view was amazing. It was so open and there was no fog anywhere. The rain had stopped at this point for a little and the sun was starting to peak out. It was still super windy but I just was taking in all of the views. I saw a few camp spots and I have started to realized that with the hammock I really will not be able to camp on top of the balds or in the fields. I will always have to find a few trees. After taking some photos on top of the mountain I made my way down the mile to the shelter. The hike was nothing hard but from all of the rain it was very slippery. It made it so tough to not slide down the trail. It was like for every step that you took you got an extra free step from the sliding. I was working my way down when I hit a really soft spot and slid down. I was lucky that I was able to catch myself with my one hand before my pack was covered in a soupy mud. I was happy my hand was there but it was so tough to get up. I did not want to get on my knees and every time I tried to get up I just kept sliding. I was so tough to get up and I could feel it in my knees after. Lucky I was right next to the shelter when it happened and I could relaxIt was weird getting to the shelter so ealry. I am usually one of the last people at the shelter but today I arrived first with two other hikers. It was nice being able to dry out all of my gear and relax a little before setting up camp and cooking dinner. I have been getting really hungry on the trail and have been carrying two dinners for most nights just in case. I had ramen noodles tonight with tuna. It really hit the spot. I was reading the shelter log and there was an entry from another hiker talking about a Chinese buffet in town. All you have to say to a hiker is buffet and you get there attention. I have been thinking about it a lot now and I am interested to check it out when I get to town on Friday. Still a little cold at night and the wind is not helping but I have been so confortable in the hammock that I sleep right thru the nightTil tomorrow.