Wednesday, September 11th, 2019
Given the weather forecast, the odd mileage, and the steep slopes, we all agreed on a zero day in the shelter. We listened to the rain beat on the roof, feeling confident in our decision. Middle Brother taught Frisbee how to play chess. They substituted a bottle cap and a quarter for the missing chess pieces.
We all decided to take a power nap, but as we began to doze off, Dark Knight woke us up to tell us, “Some hikers are coming. A bunch of them.”
Three women who were hiking the trail northbound stopped in and told us the next stretch of trail was mellow. It had stopped raining by that point and the forecast claimed it was not supposed to rain the rest of the day. And just like that, our zero day turned into a nero! We even encouraged Dark Knight to push it a little further.
The hike was foggy, misty and humid as hell. Then it rained. This was what we were trying to avoid.
After summiting Laraway Mountain, we passed by some large boulders with tannic water flowing down them in waterfalls.
Eventually the rain stopped. This was when I slipped on a wet rock and crash landed on my right wrist. I suspected a sprain at first, but it would feel better as the day progressed. Before arriving at Roundtop Shelter, we passed a NOBO thru hiker named Willby, and another named Robo Toes who was hiking with her dog.
We did our hiker chores and started eating our dinner when Dark Knight arrived. Shortly after her, the two section hikers took us by surprise by joining us. We didn’t think we were going to see them again. It was a full house that night as we listened to the flies buzzing against the skylights.
8.4 miles (13.5 km)
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Stubbs Rambles On 