Date: 2018-04-19
From: ?

To: Wayah Bald Shelter
Miles today: 15.0
Weather: light rain

So, it¢s been a while since I¢ve blogged, and I suppose that that¢s how it¢s going to be for me for the duration of the trip. The trail so far has been an intense experience, one that had begun to shape me in ways I both did and did not expect. First, my legs. Every day they get stronger. However, it¢s been more than just strength or endurance. Every day my legs grow hungrier. I began with 8 and 10 mile days, but now I find that those days are, at least mentally, not enough. I¢m holding myself back solely to respect my joints and give them time to grow. I am pretty slow, but steady on the uphills. The ascent out of Bly Gap in the pouring rain was a mental gut check. It was cold and pouring rain, and as the night wore on, it got incredibly cold. This brings me to my next major point of self affirmation. The day before I hiked to muskrat shelter, I decided to buy an emergency bivy sack. At first I thought this would be extra, unneeded weight, but I am a cautious man, and I think sometimes people can forget that things can go from fun to life and death very quickly. The following night proved this to be true. We had a member of our trail family, Player One, decide to hike beyond the shelter he initially told us he was going to stay at. A mere 90 minutes from sunset, he rolls into the shelter unexpectedly, sopping wet, shivering, with a soaking wet sleeping bag. While most of us were laughing in amazement and joy to see him, I saw the life threatening situation for what it was. Here was someone who was soaking wet, staring down a below freezing night with nothing but a single set of dry clothes. I sprung into action, and began directing him to get out his tent so I could help him set it up. He could barely prop his tent his hands were shaking so bad, so I got it up for him. I told him to get into his tent immediately and get those dry clothes on, and told Bird to bring heating water for a packet of hot cider. Once in his tent, I took out his emergency blanket and helped him wrap himself up in it. We then gave him the hot cider, and he began to come around. We attempted to dry the sleeping bag, but there was no way. This thing was dripping wet. It was at this point I took out my waste of weight emergency bivy and told him to get inside when he went to sleep. Sleep never really came to Player One that night, he was up all night shivering. If not for that emergency bivy, he may not have made it. I¢ve been told time and time again that ¢emergency gear¢ is a waste of weight, but at this point, carrying it has already saved one life. Some might consider this an overreaction, but many people don¢t know what hypothermia looks like, or how quickly it can cause a person to become unable to help themselves. This experience was intense. A close call. And one that should serve as a lesson to those looking to save weight. I did everything right that day, and no one says I need to act as my brother¢s keeper. But you know what? Fuck that. Sometimes it¢s someone else who makes a bad call. You could do everything right, and still find yourself with a fellow hiker who really needs your help, and the situation could be one of life and death. I¢m not saying we should all carry 20 pound emergency packs, but we should be looking at the high risk situations that definitely could happen, and prepare for them. Maybe it¢s a little more medical gear, maybe it¢s an emergency bivy, maybe it¢s a little extra food, a backup water purification method, or whatever. The point is, if everyone packed their bags with total disregard for every single ¢what if¢ situation, we would have some dead hikers. ¢What if¢ situations do happen. The odds are small, but they still happen, and they could happen to every one of us. My bivy stays with me now, and anyone who says it¢s a waste of weight is going to need to contend with the fact that I¢ve already saved a life with it. Very likely it¢ll never happen again, and I pray it doesn¢t. But in this case, it did, and I¢m glad I could use my own training and preparedness to get someone out of a bad situation. Beyond that, things are good. I¢ll be making the 16 mile trek into the NOC tomorrow.