Date: 2018-07-21
From: Mollie's Ridge Shelter

To: Siler's Bald Shelter
Miles today: 17.7

I went to sleep around 9:00 ad slept well until 10:45 - when the first roll of thunder echoed through the valley. The wind really picked up and it was super windy for a while. There was lightening and some thunder, but then at 2:00 AM is when it began to pour. And, oh, did it pour. It rained like a beast until about 6:00 and maybe even 6:30. It is about 7:10 now and it is still raining, but more of a gentle sprinkle than anything. I regret hanging my pack on the bear cables. I regretted it all through the night, and now it is cold. I may hike in my raincoat!*  *  *  *  *  Well, we hiked out of Mollie's Ridge at about 8:45. I knew we had many miles to cover today, so I set a relatively fast pace. It was easy because the route was kind of flat. I did have to stop at the Russell Field "toilet area." I heard men talking as I was walking up the hill, shovel in hand. There was only one man there chatting with Count while he stretched. His name was Karel and he was attempting to break the AT speed record! He was waiting for someone to bring him food at that shelter. We made it to Spence Field Shelter in about 2 hours! That's 3 mph. And then we slowed WAY down. We met two guys, Steve and John, from Kentucky. They had driven down here starting at 1 AM and then hiked up to Rocky Top. They were hilarious!! I was laughing so hard I could barely hike. While we were hiking up to Rocky Top with John and Steve, Karel came along. The two guys couldn't believe it. Karel said as he jogged past that he's on "day 4 of 44" which is crazy! He'll have done over 200 miles of the AT in 4 days! I cheered him with "GO KAREL!!!! WOOOOO!!!!" We're going to periodically check on his progress when we get home. Anyway, John and Steve kept saying things like "We're on day 1 of 1 and we're dying!! LOL (note: As of this writing, to the best of my knowledge, Karel Sabbe holds the AT Speed record.)We were going to eat lunch at Thunderhead Mountain, but there was nothing there and it smelled like human poop, so we moved on. We had lunch at mile 185.4, near a water source. Ron, a guy who we met yesterday passed us. It was about 2ish when we finished lunch and we still had 10 miles to go! we eventually caught up to Ron (from Ohio). We hiked with him to Derrick Knob Shelter, where he was staying for the night. He was going to "push on" to Silers Bald, but he was tired. SO WAS I!! But, readers, I ate my prized Hostess Orange Cupcakes to fortify my body and soul before we hiked our last 5.7 miles. It was 4:15 PM and we could hear distant thunder. I hiked as fast as my poor body could and we did 2.7 miles in an hour. With three miles to go, our remaining hike was basically all uphill and I nearly died. Figuratively, of course, but I was probably doing a half mile per hour by the end. My legs and butt had maxed out and barely could follow my command to keep going. I had to take a break. My spirit was low. I wasn't sure I could physically make it. Peanut M&Ms can only do so much for tired muscles. I made Count walk in front of me because I was so slow and tired. I said, "Go! Live!" to indicate that I wanted him to still enjoy life if I didn't make it. He trudge past me going ... not much faster. Within about a quarter of an hour, the shelter appeared. I was so relieved that I started to cry. The first time I cried all day. When we came around to the front was saw that no one was here. I cried some more. Like, I was almost sobbing. We made it. I did it. Not long after our arrival, we heard thunder from another storm. We each washed up a bit in the stream before the storm hit. We ate dinner in the shelter during the pouring rain.Thunder cracked overhead and echoed through the valley. Nature is so scary and beautiful and amazing.The temperature has dropped and it is fairly windy. I am in my long socks, sweatpants, t-shirt, fleece, and wool hat. I may out on another pair of socks before we go to sleep. I hope I'm warm enough tonight. We are at 5,453 Feet. It is 8:40 PM. We still have to hang our food... I hear more thunder in the distance and the fog is rolling in...