I enjoyed my breakfast in my sleeping bag this morning, since it was still rather chilly out. As Meta, Stonechair, Dick Flap, Wendigo, and Mr. Fantastic all put their breakfasts together I watched, munching away, from the warmth of my cocoon.
Throughout the night I had heard the scraping sounds of mice coming from somewhere in the shelter. Thoughts came, unbidden, of mice running amuck in my pack as I tried to sleep. By the morning light we learned that it was Dick Flap's pack that had been burrowed into. As he opened it up for breakfast a mouse scurried out, and he found the hole that had been eaten through the hard plastic frame sheet and trash bag within. That's the real reason hikers hang their food and packs out here, not bears, but it doesn't always do the trick.
After a very familial feeling breakfast, I set off. It wasn't very long before I came across some more Jesus magic left by a local church, and enjoyed an orange soda. I was just finishing up when Meta, Stonechair, and Dick Flap caught up, so we chatted for a couple minutes before I continued on.
I climbed up about a mile of trail before I heard a massive rustling ahead of me, and looked up in time to see a black bear taking off away from me like a bat outta hell. It was at this point that I decided to be cautious for a while and whistle to scare away any prospective startled bears. This turned out to be a good idea, as just another half mile up I scared away another bigger black bear with my tinny rendition of Don't Stop Believing. They may be big, but they're more frightened of people than the deer are out here. Of course seeing them run away is good, but seeing how fast they run away makes you realize how quickly they could catch a person. I also stumbled across a couple of snakes, but that's becoming so commonplace that I don't usually mention it.
A few more miles brought me to one of the most popular shelters on the trail. It has a built-in hot shower, and is right next to a visitors center where you can order pizza delivered. While that all sounded fantastic, it wasn't piquing my interest right then, so after a brief lunch and banter with Shenanigans I continued on. Of course I did stop at the visitors center to grab a Dr. Pepper first.
I didn't see anyone else for the rest of the days hike. I walked across some easy terrain and took a long break overlooking a spectacular vista. After sitting there for maybe 45 minutes I started down the last 1.5 miles to the shelter.
Tonight I'm tenting it. I need a few nights to not think about mice so I can get a good nights sleep. We're only 4 miles from the road to town, so it'll be an early lunch tomorrow. We don't really know what we'll find in Atkins other than a 1lb burger place. I may finish tomorrow with clean clothes and a shower, or maybe just a full belly and resupply. I'm really hoping the local grocery store isn't in the local gas station, but hope in one hand and all that. Regardless of what Atkins holds for us, though, we're making good miles lately and plan to continue doing so. Though I am hoping for wifi somewhere in town.. I need to watch the GoT finale after all!
