Date: 2011-05-17
From: Blackrock Hut

To: Pinefield Hut
Miles today: 13.2
Weather: moderate rain

Today was an absolutely miserable day. It rained on and off all night, so things were damp when I picked up in a small rain free period. I ate in the shelter quickly as it poured again. It stopped and I bundled up and headed out. No sooner did I get 2 minutes out of camp and it started raining, and I could hear thunder in the distance. As I approached the Blackrock Mountain top, which is a jumble of exposed rocks, it opened up and thunder and lightning was all around. I went as fast as I could to get back in the woods. I was soaked to the bone. My rain jacket didn¢t keep the rain out, nor did my pack cover protect my pack. Water gushed out of my boots with each step and it was blowing and cold. My plan was to hitch a ride from Blackrock parking about 8 miles up the trail to Loft Mountain Wayside since my wife and I had already hiked this section when she was here. I went out to the road and started walking for about a half hour to the next place the AT crosses the Skyline. Not one car passed either way, and it was a raging thunder and lightning storm. I felt I was too exposed out on the road and it was too cold to sit still, so I hiked back into the woods on the AT. It continued to pour and storm and the trail was a river. It got so bad that when I came across a picnic area with rest rooms I went into the men¢s room for about 12 hour to let the storm pass. When the worst of the lightning had passed I high tailed it out of there because I was cold from standing still. I resigned myself to the fact that I would have to re-hike the same section because I did not see anyone out on the road. I pushed hard to the campground store and in the process the fast pace aggravated my shin. When I arrived everyone was trying to dry out at the store and the laundry room. Everyone stripped off what they could and put it in the dryer, then stood in front of the dryer to try to stay warm. I was able to dry out most of my stuff, and warm up pretty well. After about an hour I donned my pack and headed out again for the shelter. It swapped off between misting and the sun trying to peak out for most of the hike. About one mile from the shelter the rain started coming down again and another storm was approaching. I hustled, but got wet anyway. Breeze, The Mayor, and Spoon were already at the shelter and had a fire going. When the rain stopped we got a big fire going and started the process of drying out again. I decided, as everyone else did, to stay rather than move on because it switched between pouring and breaks of clouds for the rest of the day. My shin has taken a step backwards; it was painful today especially when I pushed it. The shelter is full tonight with Blue Sky, Breeze, Spoon, The Mayor, John Wayne, Six String, Disco, Wild Goose & Ducky, Ginger Snap, Billygoat and his brother, and 2 Southbound section hikers. There are also 4 hikers that are tenting that I didn¢t meet. The highlight of the day has been being at the shelter tonight as we have a big fire and 4 different instruments being played. I¢m disappointed that my shin is acting up again. Gingersnap just got over shin splints and she showed me the stretches I should be doing. I also was hoping to do a big mileage day today by skipping ahead the 8 miles I had already hiked with Mary, but instead ended up re-hiking that section and only hiking about 7 new miles. Well, I¢ll try again tomorrow, and oh yeah, the forecast is for more RAIN, yippee!