July 16 - 21.0 / 1,781.7

Sam and I had thought about just sleeping on the warden cabin's front porch instead of in our tents. Good thing we didn't because I heard someone step out on the porch around 4 to take a pee pee break.

Overall, I don't think I got more than 5 hours of sleep. My legs were crapping during the night, and I kept hearing an animal walking around near my tent. I kept checking to make sure it didn't steal my clothes which were drying on a tree. Speaking of drying, they were more wet when I woke up due to all in condensation in the air. We were definitely in a cloud when I finally made it out of my tent.

Inferno was surprised to see us once she woke up. She didn't think we were going to make it all the way up that night. She said she got it around 9, just after dark.

We took our time all day long. I don't think I have taken as many breaks in one day as I did on this day. I just wasn't feeling it. I did get the chance to meet Mother Goose, an older lady southbounding. This was her 6th thru hike. That is an impressive feat.

I took my first really good spill today. I was walking across some rocks when I feet slipped out from underneath me. Most of my weight came down on my right hip and right arm. My arm came down on top of my trekking pole too. I had a good whelp on my arm. At first, I even thought I had broken it and that the whelp was my bone. Luckily, it was not.

After crossing over one of the mountains during the day, I was coming down when all of a sudden a dog came running down the trail behind me. Not wanting to hike it all the way back to the top, I figured I would just take it to the bottom and wait for the owner in the parking lot. Fortunately, the owner caught up to us about a half mile from the lot. The dog had gotten loose and took off. She was very pleased to have her dog back.

At the bottom of the mountain, we came across a campsite that appeared to have been hastily abandoned. There was a case of beer just sitting there, so Sam and I each packed one out for dinner.

We met some guess on four wheelers about a mile from the shelter. They were pretty low on the IQ chart. I think the only vocabulary for one of them was "No S$?@!" It was his response to everything. Inferno left the conversation first in order to get a head start to the shelter. That is when the low vocab guy said we could go to his house for dinner and a place to stay. Sam and I tried to make sure he knew what he was getting into. He seemed a little unsure and that made us unsure. I think this might have been the first time to turn down awesome trail magic. However, something just didn't feel right.

When I got to the shelter, I walked up on Hollywood taking a piss from the shelter ledge. I wasn't too pleased and let him know. He said he didn't think anyone was coming. Still dude, don't piss right where people will be walking or sitting while staying at the shelter.

Inferno, Sam, and I all sent up the mess parts of our tents in the shelter. As much as I hate that, I didn't feel like setting up my whole tent and didn't want to mess with the bugs. They are still pretty bad. The rest of the night was uneventful other than some nice chewing a hole in Samurai's food bag.

Outdoor Challenge started today. This is a camp I help lead for middle schoolers. I love doing it every year, and I think this is the first time since 1999 or 2000 that I have not gone. I hope that they all have fun and that the other leaders survive without me. I know they will.