Date: 2016-06-15
From: Pickle Branch Shelter 

To: Mile 716 Worst Campsite 
Miles today: 20.9
Weather: clear sky

Wow what a day! Started out seeing and exploring Dragon's Tooth. You need to take a short blue blaze to get there. Well worth the extra short walk especially if like me you're a beginning wanna be rock scrambler. A lot of fun climbs that just make you feel good without getting too dangerous or technical.In fact it felt more dangerous and technical hiking down the trail towards Newport Rd. It was very steep and rocky. I definitely took my time. At the bottom near intersection with North Mountain Trail there was sign warning of the difficulty of trail. I guess Nobo AT hikers needed no warning! Ha ha.As we neared Newport Rd. I decided to answer one of Achilles questions on what "Brown Blazing" was. I saw the road we needed to go on to get to a store we wanted to stop at. So I took a direct route from the trail to the road barreling down a steep incline through the vegetation and over a fence. I told Achilles, "I usually don't brown blaze but this was for educational purposes.I often have to answer these questions from Achilles and I find the best way is to show him. But be assured I'll never show him "Yellow Blazing." The other day I had the opportunity to show him the silliness of a White Blaze purist. We went into a shelter area to use a privey. The shelter had two entry points, one from the South and one from the North. We were headed North so we came in from the South entry point. As we left we exited through the North entry point. A hiker at the shelter got upset that we weren't leaving the same way we came in exclaiming, "You came in the other way!" I replied, "Yes, I did." People like to say HYOH but some people really have a set of unimportant rules they want you to follow.At the store we resupplied for one day since both of us were out of food. We also had pizza while there.Are next stop was McAfee Knob, an absolutely gorgeous rock formation with numerous photo ops. Achilles took my favorite picture of me so far on the edge of the knob.The day was getting late with storm clouds approaching along with the sound of thunder as we hiked towards Tinker Cliffs. It started raining as we hiked atop a ridge still a mile from Tinkers. A brighter light then brighter than the Sun light flashed above us with a thunderous sound instantly accompanying it. Oh,oh a cloud to cloud lightning event directly above us. It was time to get off the ridge in fact the time was probably 5 minutes ago. I yelled at Achilles, "We need to set up our tents now!" He asked, "Where?" I pointed directly downhill to a leafy, bushy, and slanted area that probably had never been used as a campsite before. Achilles looked at me, like are you sure? Yes I was sure, it was off the ridge and it was into the brush. We made it work setting up our tents while getting drenched in a torrential downpour. Achilles was in his tent first. As I was driving in my last tent stake a flash of light again right over my head followed a second later by a loud boom, wow! I let out my frightened yelp that I'm prone to do when startled. I was mad at myself for the scream. I said to myself if you hear thunder you are alright because the lightning has already struck. I crawled into my tent soaked. Wet clothes were taken off dry clothes put on. Oh well, I would have to sleep with my food tonight. Hopefully the local bears would have the sense to stay in their dens. I didn't sleep well!Hiker tip: You will be surprised on the various types of ill suited sites you can set your tarp or tent up in when you really need too. Stay off high ridges when lighting is present. Lightning is close when the ground shakes around you like an earthquake when it strikes!