Date: 2007-11-11
To: Buena Vista
Miles today: 14.0

mi. 14sleep hoteldest. Buena Vista day 122 Last night was a cold night in the hammock. This was mainly my fault. You would think I would be able to sit my hammock up prefectly each time. Nope, it seems like something is always a little off. Usually I don't realize it until late and jus slide my pad underneath me to compensate and add warmth. This time I was sitting up between 2 trees a little farther apart than normal, probibly 16 feet or so. Since it was going to be cold I wanted to hang close to the ground. It gives a little heat off the ground, but more lets less air flow from underneath. But I hung too low and ended up almost touching the ground. In addition my head end was higher than my feet. So I slid down and got off my insulation. Good thing I sleep with my sleeping pad underneath my knees. I just slide it under me from my butt to my feet. Good enough for one night. Temp wise the thermometer on my watch hanging on the ridgeline of my hammock read 42 deg. It is usually 15+ warmer than outside with my hammock sock. It had to be in the 20's. The shelter is at 3700 feet. One more funny thing about last night. There was about 7 people staying in the shelter including Torque. I was setup behind it about 20 feet. I heard a chorus of snoring. Definitly more than one person. In the morning no one was really owning up to it. A few of them also said how they got up to use the privy in the night and had problems finding the shelter afterward. It is a straight shot and only 40 yards away. Close by privy standards. Torque said it and it seems right that we have developed a good sense of direction for those things. Plus I don't go any farther than the edge of my tarp or the edge of the shelter in the middle of the night. Anything more than that can wait until the morning. Anyways on to the days hiking. It's funny. Torque and I make good hiking partners. But mileage wise we both seem to do less when we are together. I think we talk each other into more and longer breaks. Today was no different. The hiking was really good today. The temperature was warming up and the sun was out. We found a great shady spot with a view to take a nice long lunch break. During this I had to take a little break if you know what I mean. So I walked a little ways north on the trail from where we were sitting and went 10 feet or so off the trail. No way to go too much further here. I got finished and walked back to see a group of 8 boy scouts headed my way. If they would of been 2 minutes faster they would have gotten a show. Torque meanwhile said nothing to them about what I was doing. I'll have to repay that at some point. Although I could have used a great movie quote from Waiting. Funny thing number 2 for the day. Boy Scout groops, for the record I was a Boy Scout and loved it, all seem to hike about the same. First you see he scouts. This may be one group or 2 depending on their ability levels. Then about 5 or so minutes later you see the leaders. In this case a few minutes after that there was the second group of leaders. The leaders usually seem to have the largest packs. These were all packing extra water because they heard the shelter I stayed at last night was dry. Which it wasn't, the spring was flowing great. They quickly dropped some water and gave us both a liter. We got to the road to hitch in at a decent time. Around 3-ish EDST. It didn't take long at all and a pickup stopped and picked us up. A couple of local guys in their 20's. Complet with a buck head in the back, they were on their way to drop it off at the taxidermist. I did learn an important lesson to hitching. Know exactly were you are headed. We were indecisive and got dropped off at a less than prefect place. Be able to say I want to go here. Also be able to put your pack on your lap. Not a big deal in a truck, but there are times when it is a tight fit. This goes more with having a smaller pack. We got dropped off across from a motel at a gas station/Burger King. After eating and talking awhile, we decided to stay the night. It wasn't going to be overly cold, but a shower and laundry were in order. Mainly laundry for me. So we got the motel, which isn't too bad at $30 per person. Then off to family dallor. The super market was 3 miles out of town and we didn't want to deal with hitching. Not having a car really changes your prospective on things. Now the family dollar didn't have much. Actually a convinece store usually has more. But it had enough. There is going to be a lot of candy the next few days. Back at the hotel it was relaxing, shower, laundry, some beverages, and more food. We were early enough to watch some good football. But I fell asleep during the colts and chargers game.