Date: 2018-05-08
From: Upper Laurel Fork

To: Laurel Fork Shelter
Miles today: 13.9
Weather: clear sky

There is always something to be thankful for. Today I am thankful that I have lost a bit of weight over the past 45 days. I am also thankful that my 13 year old son no longer wears children¢s underwear. Mine had not dried overnight, so I donned a pair of his hip-less gitch. To get mine dry I attached them to the outside of my pack for the world to see. I am probably now a top runner in the ¢mom who embarrassed her kid the most¢ award. Oh wait, I also wrote these embarrassing things down and posted them on a public forum. I¢ve got this one hands down!To decrease weight and eliminate trash, I had not brought the packaging for any of the medications that I had with me. (Stupid!) I had to guess on the dose of the anti diarrhea medication. Now I was stopped up, but also terribly bloated. Agonizingly bloated. I wear leggings with shorts over top when I hike. Plus underwear. Plus my backpack. That made four things wrapped around my circumference and each one felt like a noose trying to squeeze the life out of me. I hiked on anyway. I am not sure how I went eight miles before lunch in that condition , but I did. The weather was gorgeous. The scenery was lovely. In the blue sky above us, one dark cloud lingered. Every once in a while we would hear it rumbling. It made me think about the trail. The trail has offered up a wide variety of landscapes for me to enjoy and delight in. The weather has been more than favourable. But, each day there seemed to be something rumbling overhead. Foot pain, moody teen, diarrhea, hunger, thirst, loneliness. Something. What was I going to focus on? The sky full of white clouds or that one dark one making threatening sounds?When we stopped for lunch we spread the footprint out on the ground and I stretched out on it watching the sky. That dark cloud moved closer. I massaged my abdomen (and thankfully passed some gas) and began to feel much better. That darn cloud was going to have none of letting me do that! Drip. We pulled out our lunch and devoured it.Drip. Drip.I put my head down on my bag and closed my eyes to rest. Drip. Drip. Drip.Fine! We packed up and got moving again. Eventually we moved beyond the reach of that insulting cloud. Temporarily.The trail had some surprises for us. Delightful ones. There were beautiful pink flowers and a flowing river that we hiked along side and crossed multiple times. I love the sound of moving water. Hiking beside it or sleeping next to it lifts my spirits. A steep trail of rocks led us down to Laurel falls. By then that nasty cloud had caught up to me. I tried to move faster. At one point the path led straight to a wall of rock. There was a blaze on the rock so I knew I was in the right spot. But, where was I supposed to go? Then I saw the narrow ledge along the rock wall that followed the river. I was supposed to walk along that!!!Exciting!Cole had gone ahead and had the tent set up when I arrived at the shelter. I tried to dive in head first to get out of the rain, forgetting about the big lump on my back. Cole was unimpressed when my backpack started to tip the tent and I got a bit of a scolding. Aren¢t I the parent here?The rain did not last very long. It was a good night, and in retrospect an enjoyable afternoon despite the rain.