Date: 2004-05-22
From: ElmerÃÂÃÂ¢ÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Sunnybrook Inn 

To: Little laurel Shelter
Miles today: 19.6
Weather: few clouds

Elmer¢s Sunnybrook Inn @ 1015 Finish: Little laurel Shelter @ 1940Miles: 19.6Weather: Sunny & in the 90¢s for the first 14 miles. Huge thunderstorms for the final stretch.Breakfast: Waffles, Granola, Apple Juice.Lunch: Snickers, Oat n' Honey, Beef Jerky.Dinner: Corn chowder, Twix, Snickers, Oat n' Honey.Trail Conditions: Steep in spots, very flat in others. Few rocks and roots.Animals: Millipedes, tons of gnats & mosquitoes.People: Smack, Postcard, Reverend Yukon Jack, Belle, Carp, Gary, K-Bear, Elmer's Staff, Sarah, Marty & Cheryl, Andy/Aaron/Jacob (from Ireland).Began the day with another fantastic breakfast at Elmer¢s. I slammed a bunch of buttermilk waffles and a few bowls of granola and soymilk. I have to admit, organic food was much better than I had imagined¢¦but boy oh boy does it clean out the gastrointestinal tract. By the time I made it 11 miles down the trail to the first shelter I had to crap so bad I was in a Defcon 4 state of emergency. I made it to the privy - I swear what followed was ungodly. My butt sounded like a Mack truck moving up a mountain road, and I kind you not¢¦.I think I saw a mushroom cloud coming from the privy when I was through. Definitely one of my more memorable trail moments. Trail to Little Laurel ShelterI made good time on the trail today. I got out of town last, but passed everyone about four miles into the woods. My hiking pace is really picking up and I am comfortably walking anywhere from 2 to 3 miles per hour. I really like my new pack and the lighter weight was nice. I caught up with Lauren and we hiked together for a few miles. She decided to nap so I passed on. I rolled into Spring Mountain Shelter a little before 3:00pm. I ate some food and waited for Lauren and Carp. I had been considering pushing on as the shelter was a real pit. Lauren rolled in and we decided to push on to Allen Gap. Carp soon passed by too. I left at 1630 and hiked with Carp to Allen Gap. As we were hiking to the gap we could hear distant rumbles of thunder indicating a potential storm. The water source at the gap was bad, it was only 5 miles to the final shelter, and I didn¢t want to camp all night in the rain with only a tarp¢¦.so I talked myself into doing the last leg and completing my longest day thus far.I set a goal of completing the final 5 miles in 1-1/2 hours. I left at 1815 and about 1915 it began to rain. The thunderclouds that were once distant finally caught up and parked themselves directly over the mountain I was climbing. The rain was very refreshing but the thunder and lighting were very scary. What sucked was I was walking right into the cloud! I threw out some prayers for safety and scooted the final 2-1/2 miles. The storm increased in intensity. The lighting was so fierce that after one bolt, I tossed my poles and fell to the ground. I made it to the shelter (alive) in the nick of time. About two minutes after I rolled in it began hailing with terrifying cracks of thunder and powerful bolts of lighting striking the mountain around us every few seconds for about 30 minutes straight. Postcard, Rev. Yukon Jack, Andy, Aaron and Jacob watched in awe-and all agreed that I scraped by by the skin of my teeth. I made it to the shelter in 1 hour 35 minutes. The storm eventually passed and we cooked dinner. God certainly provided tonight and I prayed a few times more for thanks and everyone else¢s safety. Rev. Yukon Jack, a foul mouth character, suggested we rename the shelter to ¢Big M.F. Storm Shelter¢. We all laughed. There is something about that name I don¢t think ATC will like.Anywho, I am off to bed. Sore, tired and grateful to be OK.One Year Reflection