Date: 2005-03-22
From: Bly Gap

To: Standing Indian Shelter
Miles today: 7.7
Weather: overcast clouds

Another fabulous day on the trail - my tenth in a row! I'm sure the joy of being out here will have to wear off eventually, but for now I'm content to put up with it.Today's hike was another relatively short day, intentionally so as Hopeful Hiker had managed to get weather reports on his radio this morning which promised that a major storm would hit by 4 pm - including damaging winds, heavy rain, and hail.We reached camp about 1 pm, and everyone but me set up their sleeping pads and bags in the shelter. Me, I'm still an unrepentant tent fanatic. I figured it would give me another chance to see just how water proof my Big Agnes tent is, though I have to admit that I don't recall seeing anything in their warrantee about hail..We did the usual camp chores, cooked an early dinner, and hung our bear bags. We had seen a sign at the last road crossing that a rogue bear has been working the trail between there and the next road crossing, going after hiker's packs, and displaying no signs of fear from humans. We haven't seen him yet - knock wood - but I'm sure I'm just as safe in my tent as the guys are in the shelter. I mean, if it's packs he's after, there must be a dozen hanging on pegs in the shelter for him to choose from, while mine is cleverly concealed here in my tent ... with me. Hmmmmm.That's not to say that I have not taken precautions. I'm not stupid, after all. I've just now taken my knife out of my med bag, for example. It only has a tiny one inch blade on it (I mostly use the scissors attachment to cut tape and blister patches, and happily have not had much use for those either up to now). And no, I do not intend to try to kill the bear with a one inch knife blade - it's for me to make a new exit door on whichever side of my tent the bear is Not trying to get in!As we cooked and ate dinner the wind picked up, the temperature dropped, and big dollops of water began cascading down from the sky. Only a few splats at first, but then they came more and more regularly. I dove into my tent, changed into dry clothes, and started my evening indoor chores. After hanging my mini-light and digging out my head lamp and reading glasses, I worked first on plans for the next few days hike. I check the map for elevation changes, dig out the new pages from my guide book and study those for a bit before putting them into the baggie I carry in my pocket to check against mile posts along the way.I then turn my attention to my journal entries using my trusty PocketMail device. Unfortunately, because of the weather, it's been really hard to keep up. Most nights, by the time I get into my tent, the temperature has dropped into the low 30s, and it is really hard to type with frozen fingers. I do my best to type with just my right hand, leaving my left one stuck in the warmth of my sleeping bag, but then whenever I need to capitalize a letter, or use one of the punctuation or other upper case symbols, I have to drag it out into the cold as well. Before long my fingers are just too numb to continue, so I put it away, promising myself I¢ll catch up "tomorrow" - only to repeat the process the next night.Happily, having gotten into camp the earliest ever today, and with the rain having cancelled the evening's festivities, I am just about to get totally caught up!That's the good news. The bad news is that the constant rain seems to have created a small lake on one side of my tent. I've begun thinking of it as my own private recreation area - Lake Longhaul! Unfortunately, it seems to be encroaching on the space reserved for the floor of my tent...hmmmm.Well, I guess this will be a really good test. Ah yes, and as I type this, it seems the wind is picking up as well. I mean REALLY picking up. At this point, if my tent stakes don't hold, it looks like it may be a toss up between whether I will be carried off down the mountain side as a result of a break in the levy of Lake Longhaul, or sailed off sideways into the next gap as a result of the gale force winds.There, you see dear. I told you it wasn't necessary for you to worry about me getting eaten by a bear.... Today's hike is dedicated to my Dad, who will turn 90 years old next December, and is following me on this journey with the same pride that I feel for my kids. Glad to have you along, Dad. Stay well. Love, Longhaul(Editor¢s Note)When Longhaul was talking about all that rain and wondering if he was gonna slide down the hillside, scenes from the movie ¢Romancing the Stone¢ came to mind. You remember when Jack & Joan slid down the hill in that mudslide? Well, I could just see Longhaul with his long legs flailing out the door of the tent as it zigged and zagged down the gulleys and gulches to the bottom of the holler! Doubt he would have had time to have used that puny little toad sticker he calls his tent-opener! Tenacious Tanasi (Shelly Hale)