Deluge!

On top of Big Butt Mountain - 300 miles hiked!

We hiked just over 20 miles in the past day and a half (about 13 hiking hours), and spent one night in the wilderness. It really felt like the wilderness too, since about 4 hours into the hike on the first day, a legitimate thunderstorm whipped itself up around us. We've walked through rain before, but not quite like this.

Whiterock Cliffs - the last good view we got before the storm (which you can see in the background) rolled in.

The storm worked itself up slowly, starting with just a few clouds, then a drizzle and some wind. I walked for the first few hours with just my pack cover on, since my rain clothes are uncomfortably hot. At first, I was very happy with the situation, since the overcast day was much, much cooler than some of the summer heat we've been hiking in. But up in the mountains, things change quickly...

About 6.5 minutes before things turned ugly. Guess which one we took...

Right when we hit that exposed ridge the sign warns of, the skies opened up, and within minutes every inch of me was soaked. I managed to get my raincoat on, but by that point it was really too late. When it rains on the trail, there's really nothing you can do except keep walking, especially when you're walking an exposed ridge picking your way through wet, slick granite boulders. The views would've been spectacular, I'm sure, if I could've seen anything except the 5 feet in front of me. It wasn't so much the rain that was the trouble, as the driving winds blowing it right in my face. Amazingly, my new boots held up to the soaking much longer than my other ones did. Regardless, by the time we got off that ridge, they were full of water too. Just like my pants, my hair, the folds of my pack cover, etc. By the time we fought our way through the hurricane to the next shelter, I was exhausted and freezing. Daddy and I don't stay at the shelters, but we were sure looking forward to a place to get out of the rain for a minute. When we got there, a voice from the shelter shadows (which sounded like it belonged to an older man) simply said "Shelter's made for 6, we already have 5." So what guys, either me or my Dad has to die? Shelter culture is usually so touchy-feely-let's-be-best-friends, so I was very taken aback by this gruff greeting. Soaked and sad, I put on my best pitiful face and said that we were just looking to rest a minute, and was met with blank stares from the 5 men in the shelter. Sometimes, it can really feel like the "boy's club" out here (I've literally seen only about 5 other women out here). I think they thought a girl wandering around the shelter would cramp their style.

No room at the shelter.

Luckily, there was a good camping spot in a rhododendron thicket just up the hill, and it stopped raining long enough to throw up the tent, have some food and crawl in and warm up. It was a very hard day, but all's well that ends well. The next day was beautiful, so even though we'd stopped about 2 miles short of our first day's goal because of the weather, it was a good day to be out. There was some pretty fun terrain to be hiked as well, which definitely kept things interesting.

Mountain Field.

I didn't sign up for rock climbing...

We got to the RV just a bit before 2:00pm. The "waterproof" bags I had wrapped around my feet didn't exactly protect them from my soaked boots, but I got through it. I was extra happy to see the Trail Angel Mamma after this hike, though, who had applesauce and iced tea waiting for us. A glorious treat. We got to our new RV park after a quick trip to Wal-Mart and a wonderful homecooked meal at a local restaurant (mmmm, meatloaf...), and got settled in quite nicely. The owner of the RV park even brought her cat, Cream, up to our campsite to visit...

Wat? U no likin mah dress? I wearz it just for you.