Date: 2006-08-08
From: Moose Mountain Shelter

To: Hexacuba Shelter
Miles today: 17.7
Weather: broken clouds

The fire ring was still smoldering this morning from last night¢s fire so after tossing a few twigs on top it burst back into flames. Most everyone gathered around the fire pit once again to eat breakfast and to discuss today¢s plans. Our crew planned to make it to Hexacuba Shelter for the night just under 18 miles to the north. After breakfast we extinguished the fire and headed out of camp at 8:30 am. The water source for this shelter was a couple of hundred yards north on the trail so we stopped immediately after starting to fill up our water bottles. The water source wasn¢t the best but the guidebook shows several more ahead within a couple of miles. Our first stop of the day was on top of Holts Ledge. It is listed as a peregrine falcon rookery and is noted as a prime nesting area for the falcons. We didn¢t see any falcons while there but could see the upcoming ridges of Smarts Mountain in the distance. The views of the valley below were really nice and the ledges provided a good place for Donkey¢s boys to throw rocks and watch them drop several hundred feet to the valley floor below. We also celebrated one of the boys Birthday here and sang him ¢Happy Birthday¢. Chris was appreciative of our singing and slightly amused by our abilities. Just past the rookery Donkey and Hot Springs split up from the boys as the boys had to go back home. The next section of the trail was a mixture of a little road walking and a little trail walking. It is always nice to walk on a road for a while after being on the trail for so long because roads are nice and level with no tripping hazards. The road walk ended as we crossed Grant Brook. It was a nice clean looking water source compared to the one we used this morning. After topping off our bottles the trail made a 2000¢ foot ascend up to Smarts Mountain. There we stopped to enjoy the views from the fire warden¢s cabin on the peak and to eat lunch. It was a few minutes after 2:00 pm and we had already been 13 miles so we were in no rush to leave. A long lunch, a dice game, and breath taking views on top of a mountain is what makes this trip worth every step. After about two hours of playing around we decided to push on the shelter and arrived around 6:30 pm to find Low Gear and The Hundred Year Old Hippie. The shelter is called Hexacuda for a reason. It is non-typical to the other four-sided shelters that we have stayed at so far on the trail. It was constructed with six walls in the shape of a hexagon. Toping this off the privy is perched up on the hillside and is shaped like a pentagon. Someone had a little creativeness when planning out this site. Tent camping was very limited but after searching we were all able to settle in a good place. Shasta wasn¢t feeling too well tonight so she went right to bed while the rest of us built a small fire to sit by. The water source at the shelter was really bad and even after pumping it was still cloudy. Tonight¢s temperature was a little cooler than last nights so just after eating we went to our tents for the night.Tonight at Hexacuba Shelter: Low Gear, The Hundred Year Old Hippie, Donkey, Hot Springs, Chardonnay, Jangles, Baro, Shasta, and H-bomb.