Survived the night ok. No tornados our way and the storm was steady but not terrible. My tent stayed dry but the air mattress thing is out of control. I had to blow it up about every 2 hours during the night. Combine that with sleeping on a hill...makes for a very grumpy zag.
I went to get water in this cool little spot, the spring feeds into this old concrete box, which has a spout on it. Super easy to get water, and the sun was shining just right through the trees. Reminded me of that hymn I haven't heard in years "morning by morning new mercies I see..." I'm not sure what it is about being out in the woods but I have hymns going through my head all the time. (And I haven't been to church - except for weddings and baptisms and visits home - for years).
Called NOC and reserved a bunkhouse room for OWL & I.
Since we had a reservation I knew she wouldn't go on to the next shelter. Too bad I can't make reservations at the shelters. :) So I took my time up and down the mountains. Pay attention to the breath. Pay attention to the step.
There were some dramatic dropoffs today. One spot - the "Jump Off" was really scary! I was hiking along the top of the ridge, with the mountain dropping off on both sides, and suddenly the mountain dropped off the front, too! I looked behind me...thinking maybe I missed a blaze. Looked down to the right side and saw a blaze on a mess of boulders. That was the only way down! So...I went down. (I would have taken a picture but I am a *little* afraid of heights and thought I might drop the camera or myself off the cliff!)
Made it down to NOC. It is basically a 6 mile steep downhill from the shelter. Got beer and ice cream at the general store, then set up my wet things to dry on the deck of the bunkhouse, then got a shower. (Priorities!)
I stopped by the outfitter to see if they could help find the leak. Turns out it was in the bottom seam of the mattress, so they gave me a new one. Nice!
My favorite part of town, by far, is being able to FaceTime with AWE. I miss her so much!
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