August 11, 2004 - Woke up to the rain hitting the shelter; so had a hard time getting out of my sleeping bag. Had the shelter to myself last night, which was the first time in awhile, so I didn’t have anyone pushing to get going. I knew if I wanted to get in big miles I needed to get moving. As soon as I started to leave the shelter the rain stopped. The 4.5 miles down to the road took no time at all. Yesterday it took 3.5 hours to go that far but today it only took 1.5 hours, so I was in a much better mood. The first 10.5 miles were very easy, had that done before noon. While at the first shelter of the day it started to rain and thunder so I decided to eat an early lunch and let the storm pass. I don’t mind the rain but it’s the thunder I don’t like. It was only 13 miles to the next shelter but had 3 big climbs in between so I moved a little slower than earlier but faster than in the Notch. The first climb was up Moody Mt. which gained 1200 feet over a mile so very steep. The hike down Moody was easy. Then I went straight up Old Blue, not as bad as Moody. Then back down then up Bemis Range, Bemis has several peaks. As I was heading up the last peak I heard thunder so I went as fast as I could over the mountains (all above tree line, worst place to be in a thunderstorm) and down to the shelter which was 2 miles away. Made great time because I didn’t want to be stuck up on a mountain during a thunderstorm. Made it to the shelter 30 minutes before the storm hit which was just enough time to get water and start cooking. Two other people showed up at the shelter after I got in so I wouldn’t be alone tonight. 23.3 miles today, hope I can do the same tomorrow. Almost forgot I fell 3 times throughout the day, once on my back, side, and face.
