Date: 2006-04-19
From: Pickle Branch Shelter

To: Campbell Shelter
Miles today: 17.0
Weather: broken clouds

8:44 p.m. What a day! Except for Sunshine almost dying of dehydration and Lockjaw not being with us, it was amazing from start to finish. After our morning routine (we left the shelter at 8 this morning, pretty early), we hiked 3.5 miles to Dragon's Tooth, a huge rock jutting vertically out of the ground. There were layers of rock, slightly slanted to one side, that you could climb up in between to get to the top. I stopped just short of the tip of the tooth, which was an [illegible adverb] treacherous scramble up the edge of the slices of rock. Kaptain and Sunshine made it all the way up, which was really only 5 ft or so above me, and said it was a spectacular view. I too, even from my slightly lower vantage point, got one of the best views of the trip. We spent a long time up there, talking about rock climbing and bouldering and caving. We found different ways to get into, on, through, over, and down the massive rock formation. There was also a flat area at the base of the rocks that would have made an excellent campsite if there had been a nearby water source. We had planned to hike 12 miles to a road crossing where we would go into town for food and resupply. Instead, we opted to get out at a road just 2 miles or so north of Dragon's Tooth to walk to a stand-alone gas station/store that was a better lunchtime and was closer to the trail. We got pizzas and snacks and loads of drinks and sat outside, eating. Then we went in to get food for tonight and tomorrow. We left bloated and happy. Right before we got to the road to the store, we got trail magic. We didn't take anything but a couple of Gatorades, though, and those only out of serious dehydration on Sunshine's and my parts. We figured we'd leave them for hikers not planning to go to the store. Lockjaw?Anyway, we ended up getting some more trail magic later, that we didn't feel bad about taking. We walked several uneventful miles. Sunshine began to get quite dehydrated, even though he had had a lot to drink at the store and left with two liters of Gatorade. Dehydration is scary. We hurried(?) to a shelter, but the water was not only .25 away, but undrinkable. The next shelter allowed Sunshine to rehydrate and we set off for McAfee Knob, one of the views Kaptain has been most excited about. Kaptain has hit several spots he was looking forward to in really bad weather (the May Patch snowstorm while he was catching up is an example). McAfee was amazing. It completely exceeded my expectations. A rock ledge extending off a cliff with a 180 degree but very far-reaching view of where we will spend the next few months. We ate leftover pizza (soggy), cheese and crackers, pudding, oreos and ginger snaps from the store. We took pictures and stayed for the sunset. It was wonderful. We called Boomer to see how real life was treating him. We called my parents and put them on speakerphone to chit-chat. We called and left Lockjaw a message. Finally, the sun down but the sky still bright, we walked (Kaptain kind of danced, I think) the .7 down to the shelter, where I sit now and where I will presently go to bed!