Date: 2014-07-02
From: Peru Peak Shelter

To: Greenwall Shelter
Miles today: 14.5
Weather: clear sky

The rain finally did come around nine last night. Not much but enough to make everyone clean up and go to bed. I'd really prefer my tent with all these bugs but there are ten of us here and hate packing up a wet tent so the shelter it is. Got the spot all the way to one side. Nice for a tiny bit of privacy but that's usually where the mice run. It's very warm and difficult to sleep under my sleeping bag but if left exposed the mosquitos would eat me up! Little fitful but eventually fell asleep and slept well. I guess no complaints.There's a dad with his ten year old son here. The kid's a talker. To anyone. And kinda funny. Dad warned each of us as we arrived. He's telling this bizarre story to another guy about him being a general in the Second Girl War and that he won twenty girls playing poker. Then said his girlfriends dad hates him because he's Irish. The guy is just playing along and agreeing then says "dad, you heard this story?" and dad says "yes, from his principal". Nice.I hear two days of thunderstorms. Hate. I leave early trying to get in 18 miles. As hikes go this one is super easy until the last five miles so we'll see how that goes. It's so so pretty. Classic north woods with spruce trees and their heavy scent. A rushing stream with swimming holes. There's so much to look at I completely missed a shelter. The trail isn't that muddy either even with all the rain. The first goal today is Little Rock Pond. I'm in serious need of at least a rinse off. Those bandana baths don't do nearly enough. I get to the pond about noon. It's really hot. About 85. There are three other people and they all say this is the best place to go in. You don't have to tell me twice. Pack dropped. Shirt and shoes off. I'm about to head in when the girl says not to linger in the rocks too long because of leeches but not to worry, there's a shaker of salt nearby. First - yuck! Leeches?! Second- salt really is the way huh? Just like the African Queen?The water feels so refreshing. To get all that dirt and sweat and deet off. Even if the feeling will only last ten minutes. I'd love to have property on one of these things. Moving on. Of course it's a sweaty sticky uphill after that to get dirty again but such is life. And pretty much everyday on the trail. Going all the way up to some unnamed peak. What a change up there. Nothing but open spruce/fir forest. Very little understory. Generally just this soft thick bed of needles. There's an area of big boulders. Maybe ten of them, and I guess it's become a tradition to build cairns there. Hope I remember to post those pics. Striking really. Big rocks balanced between others. And a small crack in one huge boulder where little rocks have been wedged in to serve as a ledge for floating cairns. I always see these as something you start or add to. Never something you finish. So I wedge another rock in the crack and balance a rock on top. Hopefully someone will make it into something bigger. Made it to a cliff edge which is usually a good place to check for cell service and I have three bars so let's check the weather quick. Great, now it's a severe thunderstorm watch (glad I'm not in the Whites!) and rain should start in about an hour. I never trust the weather channel on these things but I also don't like risks when it comes to weather so I decided to hike to the junction of the next shelter, about an hour away, check again and decide. Got there quick - it's only about 3 - way too early to stop hiking, but I heard thunder so let's go sit at the shelter, hope it passes, then maybe I can squeeze those last five miles in later. I can still do a fifteen tomorrow and ten on Friday but really like to be as close to the hotel as possible the night before. I'm also short on food and wanted to get in earlier to not have to end up eating everything in sight when I arrive. At the shelter now. It's 3:30 and the rain has started so guess I made the right choice.