Date: 2015-04-27
From: Hogback Ridge Shelter

To: Bald Mountain Shelter
Miles today: 10.1
Weather: broken clouds

I was really dragging through through the on and off rain. It hadn't hailed that night but it had rained hard enough to wake me up and someone said that a large tree or branch had crashed down nearby at around 3:00. I didn't hear the crash but I woke up at that time, so it woke me up. I was off at about 6:30 and the rain was on and off but mainly misting or drizzling all day. I remember a lot of the trail up to Big bald mountain and I saw a number of people along the way including a couple of ladies who were camping together alongside the trail and were breaking camp as I passed. I was hoping that the clouds would clear so we could get a good view of the area from the Big Bald which you can see over the Appalachian mountains on both sides to the plains with breathtaking vistas. But my wishes were denied as all I saw was the inside of the clouds at the top with very chilly winds that went right through me. I pushed myself to get to the shelter quickly as I felt that the weather would get worse as the report indicated when I had checked the weather earlier. More rain and freezing cold that night.Soon after I arrived I saw one of the ladies breaking camp along the way at the shelter and soon after her friend arrived with quite a story. As she was walking she had her tent on the outside of her pack as it was wet. Apparently her tent had come undone and had fallen on the trail and she noticed that it was gone and instantly stopped and texted her friend about it (uselessly as there was no service) and turned back to find her tent. It was only a few hundred feet away where it had blown off of the side of the trail. It was just one of those stories like when pack covers don't snap on or have drain holes and thus blow off in high winds. I hate it when I lose stuff on the trail. I was the second person to set up in the shelter. There was an older man who also had a tent up and was waiting for the rain to end so that he could push on. I set up my spot and was ravenous realizing that I may not be getting enough calories and was thus "Boinking" so to see I ate a knorr side dish at around 2:30 with pepperoni and then another one with a packet of spam at around 4:30 or 5. (I decided to try spam, but that while edible wasn't a good mix with this Knorr dishe.) I noticed a difference right away and I had more energy and it helped me to stay warm as it was raining and getting colder. I cleaned up my dishes and I made tea for another hiker who arrived late and was close to being hypothermic. He crawled into his sleeping bag to get warm as we kept a close eye on him until we were assured that he was o.k. It was a very cold and miserable night and I give thanks to, and for all who help provide the shelters that give us a sanctuary from the weather outside, and a place to gather together and visit. I changed into my camp clothes and crawled into my sleeping bag around 5 to warm up and rest and I started listening to my audio books. I had my Mountain Hardware Windshield wool hat on, which is a two layer had so thick that it muffles sounds and is very warm. Later I had to add my thermals, socks and baklava along with my sleeping bag and bag liner to finally get warm as the rain kept on through the night. I had heard that Coed had been sick the night before during the thunderstorm and so he had hitched in to Erwin that day from the last road crossing. I let him know by message that I was praying for him to get better so he could get back on the trail. I did this quickly as I briefly had internet connection. I checked the weather and saw that the sun would be out the next day and that it would warm up and be a beautiful day. I was asleep before it was even dark.