Stephanie's Trail Journal

July 3rd

Beginning Point: Marble Spring campsite
Ending Point: Punchbowl Shelter
Daily Mileage: 18.3 Miles
Total Miles: 781.2 Miles
Weather: Hot and humid with late day thunderstorms

Stuck in thunderstorm around 7:30 - if only we'd left the lunch shelter an hour or so earlier! Cold rain, but it lasted only 20 or 30 minutes thankfully. We hiked for another half hour or so before reaching the shelter so we had some time to drip dry a little. Punchbowl shelter is next to a pond and when we arrived the frogs were already setting up their choruses; I heard at least 4 different species calling.

There was just enough room for us in the shelter; Spider, Brother, and No Pain were already there and had eaten dinner. We, of course, had to cook in the dark but the rain picked up again so just cooked in the shelter - usually a no-no however exceptions tend to be made during foul weather.

The no-see-ums and blackflies were biting all night long - Stephan's legs were covered in bites. I seemed to do alright because I used my mummy liner to cover myself from head to toe. Dan crawled in his hammock (in the shelter) and said that kept the bugs off but was really hot.

The other thing was about all the frogs calling. I find it calming and soothing, but the boys had other opinions regarding these nocturnal noises... Dan said at one point he got up and stood by the pond looking for rocks to toss in to "scare" them into not calling anymore. Stephan had some hostile words about the frogs in the morning as well.

Keep hiking,
Steph