Origin: Rock Spring Hut
Destination: Gravel Springs Hut
Today's miles: 28.4
Total miles: 952.7
When I checked the weather on Tuesday, the forecast for today was beautiful but it was ugly for Friday. So when I made my plans, I decided that I'd put in a big day today so I'd have a relatively short day to Front Royal on Friday, where I would resupply for the last time and dry out. It would have worked out perfectly. It was therefore disappointing when I checked the weather last night, and the updated forecast had nothing but rain for today and tomorrow. I evaluated some other options, but ultimately decided to bite the bullet and put in a long day today.
I got on the trail at 6:15am so I could get in as many miles as possible before the rain started. About an hour passed before it started to sprinkle, but it really didn't bother me too much. I saw another bear soon after I started; it was maybe 50 feet from me and it bolted deeper into the woods as soon as it heard me. It wasn't that big so I'm guessing it was a juvenile. Once again, it was gone before I could even get my camera out of my pocket.
I maintained a good pace all morning with the intent of getting to Elkwallow Wayside by around 2pm so I could pack on some calories. Once there, I ate three hot dogs, French fries and drank a couple of Mountain Dews and bought some chocolate bars and Clif Bars for later. While I was stuffing my face, the rain picked up in intensity and had turned into a downpour by the time I left. I only had six miles left, so I just put my head down and went into Magge's bag of tricks and pulled out "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall" for a while. The trail was nearly a giant puddle at this point but time passed fairly quickly and I pulled into the shelter at 5pm. It was cool enough today that the bigs aren't a big problem, so I decided to sleep in the shelter to avoid packing up a wet tent early in the morning. I should be in Front Royal in time for lunch tomorrow.
Man, we are getting that rain now, it is brutal!
ReplyDeleteYes we know about puddles down here. Actually we have ponds.
ReplyDeleteWhat is surprising is to see how early you get up and get going. It is a good thing as you get to your destination at a decent hour when it is still light outside (and see those bears lurking here and there!).
ReplyDeleteYou are definitely stuffing your face. That's a lot of food but then again if you are expending 6000 calories a day I guess you need to stuff your face. :)
Wishing you lots of sunshine tomorrow so you can attain your mileage goal on smooth terrain instead of muddy slippery trails.