An Optimisic Start

As much as I hate to...the story must be told.

We took off on our hike at about 8:30-8:45. it would be a mile to our hike-in spot, and then 10 miles to our first shelter...Mollie's Ridge. 11 miles total.

As you can see from my picture of Doug on my FLICKR PAGE, the trail immediately started uphill. How were we to know that it would continue uphill for 7 more miles?

We quickly (very quickly) found out we were over-matched, over-packed, under-trained, and overwhelmed. But, we kept on going...thinking that it JUST HAD to get better.

It didn't. At 5:30 p.m., we found a sign that said we had 3.1 miles left to the shelter...with about 90 minutes of daylight left. With a bad storm approaching (including hail), things were not looking good. Still...(running out of options), we walked on.

Darkness set in. So did mental and physical exhaustion. Each step, each stretch was an ordeal.

I hate to admit it, but thoughts entered my head about not making it out of the woods.

For most of the day, I was the leader...trying to push Doug along as he struggled with altitude sickness. Dizziness, and being queasy.

But, in the end...Doug took over. I couldn't walk another step. He urged me on. "C'mon...let's walk 10 steps...then we'll take another rest." 10 steps, after 10 steps...we walked. Slow, slow, and slower.

For 75 minutes, we walked in the dark...with only Doug's small headlamp as our light. Every stump and big rock became a bear, and every step was an act of balance. I wanted to sit down, and lean up against a tree...and take our chances.

At 8:45, I saw a building. "Doug...look there!" It was Mollies.

We stumbled in, and woke up the other 8 people who were sleeping. We were supposed to hang up our packs to keep the bears from coming in to investigate, but were too tired to do it. We climbed into the top bunk, and crashed. I didn't even take off my wet clothes...I didn't even take off my boots. I just covered up with my sleeping bag.

I only uttered a few more words.

"Hey Doug?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for pulling me through."

"You're welcome buddy."

A tough day and night. It took us 12 hours to walk 11 miles. And...WE THOUGHT WE WERE READY!!!