Date: 2011-06-21
From: Yellow Springs Campground

To: 501 Shelter
Miles today: 22.0
Weather: overcast clouds

it started raining very early in the morning, before we got out of our tents around 4:00am. the worst thing is packing up a wet tent. i absolutely despise rolling up a soggy rain fly. not only does it weigh a lot more, you have to remember to dry it out as soon as possible. my alarm went off at 5:00 am and i didn't feel like trying to keep my gear dry in a downpour. i decided to wait for a while to see if it would let off. i emerged around 6:45 am once it had slowed down to a mild drizzle. i packed up quickly in case it came back stronger. i woke Leap and reminded him that there would be pizza in a mere 22 miles if he could get his act together. he popped up and started pulling his tent down (he has the same tent as me, the big agnes fly creek 1). i didn't wait for him, i wanted to get a good jump on the day. i jumped on the path at 7:50am and made it the first shelter five miles in by 9:15. that works out to be 3.54 mph which is 0.01 mph slower than my record speed. i passed some section hikers (Ann and Tom) going up the first big hill. the weather was nice and cloudy, but the most humid so far. it felt like i was breathing through a wet towel wraped around my face. i stopped for a quick bite to eat near the highway to Lickdale where there was a stream for a water source. however the water was flowing at a slight orange color and was rather cloudy. on top of that there was a bunch of garbage under the water, so i gave the source a miss. unfortunately there was not another source for about seven miles and i was counting on this one. oh well, i don't think i'll die in he next seven miles. i ran out of water entirely om the next hill. i've walked further without water, i should be fine. i just really hope the next source is reliable. sometimes the water sources mentioned in the book have dried up in the hotter months. once i got up the climb the ridge walk to water was not too bad, except for the rocky terrain in sections. the water source was amazing! it was an ice cold natural spring. i chugged two liters without even trying. i carried one more liter over then next easy four miles. i arrived at the pizza shelter before 5:00pm. Shutter and Perigrine were already there as they had a shorter day from Lickdale. the three of us called in an order to the pizza joint asap. priorities... this epic shelter is more like a bunkhouse or hostel. okay so you still need a sleeping pad and sleeping bag, but it has four walls with windows and doors. the windows even have bug mesh on them! there's an outdoor shower to boot. albeit a solar heated shower (which means that unless you hop in on a scorching summer afternoon it's cold). the shower was indeed cold, but nice all the same. it is after all still a shower, and i am after all a smelly hiker. the two are made for each other. it turns out that i ordered entirely too much food yet again, shock. the common mistake of "your eyes are too big for your stomach" i find is much easier to make while on a long distance hike. no matter, i will again plow some for breakfast and pack the rest for lunch tomorrow. as it turns out, my group order was the first of three. i suppose the pizza joint expects this. i would even go as far as saying that this shelter provides a solid seasonal business they have to account for. at the end of the night we had close to a full house, all with full pizza bellies; Perigrine, Shutter, Leap, Tom, Ann, Sarge, Weaver and Gutsy. time to digest some doughy goodness.