Date: 2004-06-01
From: Quarry Gap Shelter

To: Ironmaster's Mansion Hostel
Miles today: 17.4
Weather: scattered clouds

well, the day started nice, but i was soon cursing it. i was five minutes away from a shelter, after walking 13 miles in sunshine, when the sky darkened and rumbled. i stopped and put my pack cover on and kept moving. it starts raining. i stop to get my raingear out. it starts raining in buckets - thunder and lightning, the whole works. i'm drenched by time the raingear is on and my pack is wet from the short time the cover was off to get the raingear. the trail is now a stream and i slog down the last bit to the shelter. one minute before i get to the shelter the rain stops. i am flippin mad. i throw my pack in the shelter and lay all my gear out to dry. it's not going to though, because its cold from the rain... and my body heat is the only dryer around here. my shirt isn't bad, but the kilt is sopping - it feels like a wet diaper. my socks, already wet from yesterday's wet shoes, are now soaked along with the shoes. (these Garmonts have held up well, but you need something short of a thermonuclear explosion to dry them.)i sat in the shelter in my wet clothes waiting for the weather to decide what it wanted to do. now that i'm not moving, i'm borderline shivering. the feeling of cold makes me reach for a snickers bar. Mmmmm, calories will help keep me warm.lo and behold the sun comes out, full strength. i spread out all my gear and rain clothes so the sun would dry them. steam rose from my pack as the sun hit the black material. cool.i took off my kilt and hung it from my leki poles and laid my shirt on the rocks of the fire pit. what am i wearing now? just a smile. my trash bag rain skirt will make a good cover while things dry. not like it matters anyway... it's not a weekend and amy is 1/2 day behind me and the duke of earl and indy are a 1/2 day in front of me. i will see no one today.after most of my things dried, the skies darkened again. this time mother nature was not going to get me - everything into the shelter! she poured down again with all her fury, but i was high and dry in the shelter.i waited for the first rays of sun to poke through the clouds and then i made my break. northward ho!it was three miles to the official half-way point and one more mile to the hostel and campstore. since the half-way point changes every year, there is no photo op at the official spot. just knowing i'm passing it makes me feel good.moving on, the trail descends along some houses - many of them have the same rustic look of the shelters i've been staying in. four or five houses down there are four ladies talking in the front yard. one calls out to me, "where are you coming from?""georgia", i say with a smile.the conversation that followed is the usual with talk of miles, gear, time off from work, etc. before i left, one of the ladies offered me some cut up watermelon and cherries. she put them in a zip lock so i cold eat as i walked down the road. Mmmmmm, fresh fruit... the first trail magic of june!my next stop came quickly. the pine grove furnace campstore - home of the half-gallon challenge. this is where a thru hiker tries to eat a half-gallon of ice cream in one sitting. there is a speed record too. 9 minutes, set last year (you are allowed to sip hot coffee to prevent brain freeze).this thru hiker did not even attempt the half-gallon challenge because he knows what the body goes through to prevent hyperglycemia. why strain the system? i went for a pint of cookies and cream to go with my belly full of watermelon and cherries. the third thunderstorm of the day came and went while i was at the campstore. i waited for the sun to appear and then hiked a tenth of a mile to the hostel.the hostel was one of the america youth hostels. donna, the caretaker, greeted me and showed me around. it was fine place except their dryer was broken. i had to put my laundry out on the line and watch for passing thunderstorms.i didn't pack a dinner for tonight because the guidebook says they have microwave pizza here. not so, says donna. but she did have leftovers from another group's party - free for the taking.enter magic #2 for june... the leftovers were trays, yes trays of turkey, gravy, mashed and sweet potatoes, stuffing, ziti, and two kinds of pie. i had dinner twice tonight.as i sat on the porch eating, sun setting, i thought "ah, tis the life". i stepped back through my day. did i do anything special today? was i more in the moment today? why was magic courting me today?i made time to talk to people on the way, to share my dream with them. i also kept my mileage down and resisted the urge to just come in for a shower and push on to the next shelter. did that open up a space where i could receive more from the unknown (unknown = trail magic)? probably two of the nicest things you could do for a hiker is give them food or dry their clothes... and i got food twice today. this is not just luck. there is something else involved here. this is just one of the things i am discovering on this journey.