Day 2: Springer to Hawk shelter

After my first night on the trail, I awoke to foggy conditions that obscured any view. It had rained overnight and promised to be a rainy day as well.

I wasn't hungry so I didn't have any breakfast, but packed up my gear instead. Morris and I set out for Hawk Shelter.  Throughout the day visibility was obscured by fog but my spirits were high as we made our way along the trail. We met CookIN along the way and hiked with him for part of the day. 

The weather called for severe thunderstorms that evening so when we arrived at Hawk shelter I began setting up my hammock right away. Morris chose to stay in the shelter. I was considering it but decided that was a good way to catch someones cold or flu virus.

We stood around a fire in the drizzling rain, talking with other hikers about hiker stuff.  I cooked 2 cups of rice with some bullion cubes in it for dinner. The cat can stove was difficult to start and very inefficient. It took 6 ounces of fuel to boil 2 cups of water. Nevertheless I ate a hot meal of bland rice as I sat in the shelter listening to the conversations around me.  I met Hopper and Bismark who had a wealth of information about the trail and gear and were a pleasure to talk to. (Later when I purchased some treking poles, my choice was based on their recommendation )

At around 6:30pm the sky opened up and dropped torrents of rain. I scrambled into my hammock and snugged in for the night. I fell asleep quickly to the patter of rain and intermittent flashes of lightning.  My hammock is awesome with one exception, no insulation under me. I woke up at midnight because I was cold. My Down sleeping bag compresses so well that there was little insulation from that either.  For the rest of the night I slept little and turned a lot to keep from freezing. I regretted leaving my sleeping pad behind. The insulation it provides was sorely missed. I vowed to do something to prevent myself from spending another frigid night without good sleep.

My priorities as always, are to take care of my feet and get good rest, then anything is manageable.