Date: 2015-05-21
From: Glasgow Hiker Shelter

To: Brown Mountain Creek Shelter
Miles today: 20.0
Weather: light rain

Yesterday was so nice! I got a good hike in, got into town in time to pick up my mail, got CLEAN, ate cookies and salad and half a pizza, and didn't have to pay for a hotel or hostel.Today wasn't too eventful. Lots of hiking.I was thrilled to peek my head out of my tent this morning to found that it WASN'T raining. My tent was also amazingly dry. I was thrilled. Who wants to pack up a wet tent and hike in the rain? A crazy person, that's who. And although I am clearly nuts, I am not THAT nuts.I packed up and waited for Chris. Every morning now, I wait for Chris. Usually not for long, though. He takes longer to eat breakfast and pack up. He is also much more organized than me. And I like to think I am pretty organized. He actually ENJOYS packing his pack, orghanjzInf it. I HATE packing stupid fat Bertha because it seems like no matter what I do, I can never find the perfect place for things. It is like Tetris, trying to efficiently cram a ton of stuff into a small space.Anyway, I pack up faster in the morning. So I waited, and then we got a ride back to the trail from a guy named Mike, who gave Chris a coin to place on the memorial on Bluff Mountain. Super sad story... a LONG time ago, a little boy wandered away from his schoolhouse. Somehow he made it up the mountain, and died there. They placed a memorial where the body was found. When we got there today, Chris placed the coin as requested.Back to the morning. We got to the trailhead fairly early. And then it started raining. Of course. I used my umbrella for a few miles but then it stopped, so I put it away. We climbed a big hill. Then another big hill. They were fairly gentle climbs, but long. And then the rain started again.The rain actually wasn't too bad until 10 o'clock or so. It was just a steady kind of rain, and I wasn't soaked, just damp. It was a little chilly, but I was warm from the exertion of the hike. I didn't mind it, it was even a bit refreshing.We were aiming for the first shelter as our first goal of the day. It was about 10 miles down the trail. In the rain, we didn't stop much. We just kept going. My tummy started to protest the lack of food as we passed morning snack time without a pause. Seriously, I am always freaking hungry. I am hungry right now typing this. I wanted to stop and eat half of the contents of my food bag. But I sucked it up and kept going. Better to be at a shelter, able to dry out while I ate.We made it there around 11, traveling what felt like a other half a mile off the trail to get to the shelter. I cursed the distance as Chris kept moving ahead of me. Why wasn't he stopping? Weren't we there yet?! WHERE WAS THE STUPID SHELTER?! I was HUNGRY. I didn't want to deal with any of this off-trail-shelter nonsense. But I had no choice. I was so relieved when I finally saw the stupid roof.We took off our shoes and socks, hung our pack covers to dry, and put on our down jackets. Now that I wasn't hauling a 37484 pound Bertha pack uphill, I started to get cold. I put my rain jacket on, too. Then I put on dry socks. Then I put on another pair of socks over those. Then I put on my pants. As I gained layers, the shelter started to get crowded. The lunch rush filled in and conversations filled the air.I was so cold. I considered taking out my sleeping bag but didn't want to get it wet. Wet stuff SUCKS. I would rather be uncomfortably cold at a shelter for lunch than have a wet sleeping bag.Since I had skipped morning snack, it meant that I got to eat a snack AND lunch at the shelter. There is nothing better than an excuse to eat. And eat I did. And then Chris and I both made hot chocolate, because it was cold. And what is more perfect on a cold rainy day, sitting in a shelter on the AT? NOTHING. It was fabulous. I am usually too lazy to make hot chocolate, but today I needed it. Thanks go to Chris for sharing.The shelter started clearing out as people finished their lunches and moved on. We waited a bit, since we planned to hit the next shelter, which was only ten more miles away, and we had plenty of time left to get there. We hoped to wait out the rest of the rain before continuing on.We spent more than THREE HOURS at the shelter. Everyone who had stopped for lunch left except Hot Sauce, who was bundled up in his quilt. Chris said, "I think Hit Sauce's got the right idea."I was happy to agree. Who wouldn't?! I was freaking cold, even after my hot chocolate. I was not going to pass up on the opportunity to be lazy and warm in the middle of a rainy day. It was still early, so we pulled out our ThermaRests and sleeping bags and warmed up while looking at the next pages of guidebook, trying to make a plan for the next few days. Well, Chris tried to plan while I tried to stay awake. But then he got frustrated, which is understandable, because it is a massive pain to plan ahead where you might want to stop the next day, especially when shelters and water sources are inconveniently placed.So we lazed around a bit and warmed up and Chris actually fell asleep at one point. But eventually the rain stopped, and we packed up and headed out again. And we hiked, and deposited our trash in a litter bin on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The bins say LITTER on them, which I think is stupid. Litter is on the ground, when it should be in a trash can. Right?! Isn't that what makes it litter?! If it is IN the trash can, it isn't litter anymore, it is just garbage. Whatever. Nothing makes sense out here.And then we hiked and hiked and talked a bit, and collected water, and hiked, and I tried not to fall asleep, and we passed a cool reservoir, and I started getting hungry and my cold damp feet started to hurt, and we kept hiking. And for the last two miles of the day, we enjoyed a nice, flat stretch of trail ambling along a stream, and the sun started to peek out from behind the clouds.We got to camp a little later than usual due to our ridiculously long, awesome snack/lunch/snack/nap break. I strung up a clothesline, which is probably useless since nothing will dry overnight next to the stupid stream we are camped at (it would be amazing in the middle of a warm day - prime bathing location - but tonight sucks because I hate putting damp clothes on in the morning).We passed the 800 mile mark today! So weird. We discussed how strangely time has been passing out here. And after dinner, we celebrated the milestone by toasting with delicious, delicious candy bars. Chris traded me a candy bar for a granola bar, so I didn't even have to pick the M&Ms out of my trail mix to use as my celebratory chocolate.The camping area for this shelter is actually across the stream and about 700 miles from the privy, which is super obnoxious because there is nowhere else to pee that isn't too close to the stream. So hopefully my bladder can make it through the night.No funny stories to tell today... but it was a really good day. Amd tomorrow should be nice, so I can dry out my clothes at some point. My tent will undoubtedly be wet in the morning, too.I am thankful for a friend to share the trail with, a cozy sleeping bag (thanks mom and Dan!), and for the fact that I habe been able to enjoy 800 miles of trail. I am still loving the adventure.