GoldenBear

Thursday was going to be the day with maximum mileage, but it looked (and is) pretty flat once I got to Dismal Creek. What I didn’t plan for was THIS day being the day when thunderstorms hit. Considering how dry the area has been for the last month, and how distracting the sun had been for the last three days; I didn’t mind seeing clouds gathering, or hearing distant thunder. As the thunder grew louder, I knew I had to be prepared for the possibility of rain coming my way. When I saw a lightning flash, I immediately began to count, figuring it would help me estimate how many miles away the storm was. “One, two,..” KABOOOOM!!! Clearly, I was lot closer than I wanted to be! When the rain started coming down in a drizzle, I figured I’d better be ready for a more intense downpour. Since I ALWAYS keep my rain poncho at the top of my pack, it didn’t take me long to get it ready for placement over me and my pack.

For those wondering why I didn’t just put it on as soon as rain started to come down, it’s because I’ve found that wearing it while hiking causes sweat to condense on the inside. My figuring has always been that I don’t put on my poncho until the rain would make me wetter than the sweat on the inside. I’ve also found that Goretex{R} doesn’t seem to help me much, and it weighs a lot more than a nylon poncho.

In a true blessing, I found the perfect rock to sit on just as the rain started to come down in buckets. It’s been my experience that, if hiking through trees, there is about a one minute delay between the time the rain starts to really hit the top of the trees and the time it begins to drip down to where you are. Thus, I had enough time to fully put on my poncho, and just sit on the rock while both I and my pack stayed pretty dry. After about twenty to thirty minutes of heavy rain, the weather cleared up and I re-started my hike towards Watipi.

I got there with plenty of daylight left, and set up my gear with the expectation that, for the fifth straight night, I would not be sharing my sleeping quarter with anyone. I’m not misanthropic, but I like to spread out my stuff when I’m at a shelter. I was thus a LITTLE disappointed when five other people arrived just as things were getting dark. Fortunately for me, they just wanted the area for tent camping. Besides, SOBOs Monk, Bearcat, and Brown were all pleasant to talk with.

What was a little more annoying was the arrival of three shelter users at about 11pm – they had left Woods Hole about 7pm, meaning they hiked along the ridge and down the hill well after dark. In fairness to them, they did their best not to be disruptive as they set up for the night.

What was a LOT more annoying was my first experience with shelter mice. Simple probability tells me that I’ve almost certainly been in a shelter with mice, but I’ve never seen nor heard them – until this night. Worse, and to my extreme discredit, one of them (apparently) swiped my bag of breakfast food. Don’t ask why I didn’t just hang my bag; I honestly don’t know why I didn’t do what is normally standard procedure for me.

Had no trouble getting on The Trail for my last day, walking to Woods Hole by 1pm, loading everything and taking a shower within an hour, and driving home to Shuttle in about nine hours.

Overall, a pretty good trip of just under fifty miles. No falls, no major forgetting of my hiking pole, no sunburn, and only two small insect bites. Since I’ve found a shuttle for this area that is reliable and easy to use, I intend to be back as soon as I reasonably can.