The Rains Came
I much prefer to sleep in my tent. It’s much warmer than the shelter not to mention it gives you privacy in the event that there are other hikers around. On the previous day we had not met one other through hiker. When I saw the moon I figured that they sure blew that forecast but before the night was over the rains came.
I awoke to the sounds of a turkey gobbler, owls and an assortment of other birds. It was the sound of happy birds after a nights rain.
Not far into the day we came upon this detour…. a dilemma I’m not fond of. I want to hike every foot of the trail…. not detours.
The day was threatening and it seemed to be getting darker.
10:05 To Get Wet or to Get Wetter
Again they got ahead of me. About 09:35 I had my second fall of the trip. Once more it had nothing to do with Vert T. Go. I was coming down a steep descent on wet leaves. My left foot went out from under me. When that happens there is absolutely no way to stop the fall. One second your standing erect and the next moment you’re in a pile on the ground. The only unknown is how much damage you do on the way down. In this case I lay there for a moment: sore left palm, abrasion to the right elbow. My pack had absorbed most of the impact. I got up and hiked on.
We arrived at New Caledonia State Park. A great place green and inviting. We walked through the park and were soon faced with our worse climb of the day. And another bout of light rain. I went into the gear…… again.
10:25. Shua of Philadelphia Hiking to Harper’s Ferry
Short for Joshua Shua was solo hiking to Harper’s Ferry.
10:31 On Again Off Again Drives you Nuts
I actually had my pack covered but my raincoat off and tied around my waist by this time. The guessing game was becoming a pain. You just don’t want to be be taking your pack on and off over and over again all day.
10:53 Just Before the Rain Settled In
By 11:30 the rain had settled in completely. Full gear was on us and our packs. We actually thought about stopping at a shelter short of our goal but decided to hike on through the rain to Birch Run Shelter. The weather forecast said that it was supposed to stop later in the day.
I’d say that this day is one of those days that you just endure. You look back on these types of days and realize that nothing really memorable happened. Yet they are necessary. They serve to connect the whole and in this case it was a 13 mile connection. If I was home maybe I would have just managed to get the refrigerator cleaned out or reorganized my closet. Luckily all days contain good of some kind. You might have to look for it a little harder but it’s there somewhere between the raindrops. Hike on!
Wanderings With Wayne 
you are a trooper my good man! I was reading about your visit back to Vietnam I am fascinated by the place and read about the tunnels and all that and the VC living in the underground for years and popping up now and again just to drive you nuts So interesting in a very unpleasant kind of way. My Dad was a journalist and so we both read similar books , non-fiction etc. and we both read one The Tunnel Rats which makes me want to go there to explore which won’t happen – I am 77 _ I rely on books and reading for the real experience I looked at some of your pics etc. I will go back to see more
pics
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I went into a tunnel once while I was on patrol. It was one of the most frightening experiences that I have ever had.
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