Date: 2007-08-03
From: Cloud Pond Lean-to

To: Carl A. Newhall Lean-to
Miles today: 16.8
Weather: scattered clouds

We left the shelter not too early, but with a full day in mind. I was planning on taking a small detour and doing the Gulf Hagas Trail; Cheeze was still undecided. We went over Chairback Mountain, which we barely noticed... coming down was a different story. Reminded me a little bit like Pennsylvania, particularly the Bake Oven Knob region. Lots of boulder hopping. Nothing to really worry about though.While we were eating lunch at the shelter, a thin-looking guy a few years younger than us came walking past. He was obviously a thru-hiker. He only offered a quick hello, said something about "wanting to get over the mountains to-day" and continued on. Cheeze and I looked at each other in puzzlement. This was by far the most abrupt encounter we've had with a thru-hiker thus far, and to be frank, we were a little put off by it. But whatever, HYOH.A few minutes later the kid came back. "Hey, do you guys know the trail goes?" Cheeze and I exchanged looks, and we made him talk with us for a few minutes before giving him directions.His name was DQ, and he had started at the astonishingly late date of May 16th. Stopping to smell the roses is obviously something he doesn't much care for. I remember meeting Gopher back in Massachusetts, and being bewildered that he began mid-April. This guy blows Gopher away. But whatever, obviously the Trail is more of an athletic test for him than a party. I like to mix in a little of both, and I think I more or less have. I have no regrets.Later that day, after fording the west branch of the Pleasant River, we met a day hiker. Cheeze inquired as to the weather for the day, as we had been hearing thunder all afternoon. She laughed. "The weather report said it was going to be nice until around 4 o'clock, when it will just open up!"I looked at my watch. 3:45. So much for Gulf Hagas, I valued my life more. We began kicking it as fast as we could to the next shelter, which was a good 6 miles away. 5 minutes later, however, we found ourselves in what was by far, the most ferocious storm of the entire hike.As sticks, hail and rain pelted down on us, we had no option but to keep on moving as fast as we could toward protection as lightning cracked all around us. One time the lightning was synonymous with the thunder; it was so close we nearly jumped out of our shoes. What the hell were we doing here? Cheeze and I hiked together, making sure neither of us would get hurt. At one point we passed a family who had obviously been playing in Gulf Hagas when the freak storm struck. The father was carrying a sobbing baby girl. I felt sorry for them. They shouldn't be out in weather like this. And they still had a river to ford.By the time we arrived at the Carl A. Newhall Lean-to, the storm had more or less subsided, but we were beat, the next shelter was 7.2 miles away, and it looked like the storm might strike again. DQ was at the shelter; he had arrived just in time before the storm struck. We got to know him a little better; he was actually an all right guy, though a little pretentious, and we had to put up with his grumbling about "only" doing a 27 mile day.Some folks just don't know how to have fun.