Date: 2009-08-13
From: Clarence Fahnestock State Park

To: Morgan Stewart Shelter
Miles today: 16.0
Weather: light rain

Unusually for round these parts it seemed to rain all night and any hopes that it would rain itself out and that I¢d have a bright dry morning were to be dashed.I had fallen asleep quickly and when I woke at 3am I felt rested but also disappointed to hear the continuous rain. By 5.15am it was much the dame, but now I was a lot more concerned about the looming possibility of a wet start. By 6am I was seriously pondering my options due to the continuing steady drumming of the rain. Best to just get going I thought ¢ if it keeps raining well, I¢ll get wet, if it stops and brightens up then I¢ll dry off soon enough. There was certainly nothing to be gained from trying to sit it out.But I still had to try and be clever ¢ deciding that given the rain shorts might be better than trousers and also making a half assed attempt to try and pack my rucksack in my tent before I eventually stepped out into the rain. But instead of trying to be clever I could have saved myself a lot of hassle by just actually looking outside. If I had I would have seen that yes, it was raining but only a little. Now I messed about taking my pack to the shower room, getting bitten by bugs, going back to take down my tent, getting bitten by bugs, heading back to the shower room to repack everything and needless to say get bitten by bugs.The rain was far too light and the bugs far too numerous for this shorts mularky. I headed off but stopped tat the picnic pavilion for a quick costume change and some breakfast. This is what happens when you give in to your fears (and when you try to be too clever).As I said the morning wasn¢t that and but it wasn¢t much fun either, a day to plod on and to check off some progress. Initially I focussed on pounding out the 7 miles in 3 hours with no breaks, one view (I think) so not much fun but some satisfaction on the progress made. I got there to find Snipe again. He had shuttled up here but now the rain seemed to be draining his enthusiasm while at the same time the inactivity was driving him to distraction ¢ a poor combination.I kicked off my wet socks and shoes and enjoyed my first real rest of the day. As I did the murky gloom lifted a touch, the drizzle stopped and a little bit of warmth hinted at better times to come. Could it last? I didn¢t care. I¢d take it fro now, head on and accept what came my way. For Snipe it was the opportunity he had been waiting for and as I left he was busy packing up his own things, committed to getting his show in the road.My next goal was the 5 mile stretch to a nearby grocery store, and a pleasant 5 miles they were too. The rain held off and the increasing warmth and the constant activity was slowly but surely drying me out. I stank though. Out in the open during the day it doesn¢t seem so bad but at night when I¢m alone in the confined space of my tent even my desensitised sense of smell picks up on something faintly sinister. I couldn¢t quite place it but this morning it struck me. I think it¢s a kind of ammonia smell. Similar to that, catch at the back of your throat whiff you get from Stilton cheese. Is it the mould? Are all my possessions slowly turning to blue cheese?Returning from the store I bumped into Snipe again. It was good to see him walking and he had made good time with his large pack, his guitar and his staff of near biblical proportions. ¢Good effort¢ I thought as I watched him head off for the store and its promised joy.Stage Three of today¢s exertions and the limit of my ambitions for today was the stroll to Morgan Stewart Shelter. My feet were starting to throb but I put that down to the day¢s shortage of breaks. The rain had meant that I¢d pounded out average miles but is less than average time. Even now when I could have eased up I wanted to crank out the miles to get into camp early and pitch my tent. It would be soaked inside and out form last night¢s rain so I hoped to give it a chance to dry out while the fair weather held. Besides, once the day is over and I¢m settling down for the night, gently throbbing feet necessarily aren¢t a bad thing but rather a reminder of the day¢s exertions just passed.