This morning, with everything left out on the tables, the food fest continued with me nibbling on chocolate chip cookies and downing a bowl of frosted mini-wheats. After breakfast, Mike took me back up to the trail as he had promised the day before and I was hiking by 7 a.m. The sun was out, which, compared to the thick fog of the last several days, made the morning pleasant. I thought that last night's heavy rains had sufficed to release enough atmospheric moisture so that there would be sunny days ahead. That's the reason why I thought nothing of the line of thunderclouds in the distance as I took in the lovely views from Cedar Cliffs. However, over the next hour or two those same clouds moved ever nearer. Then, just coming down from Humpback Rocks, it started to sprinkle and before long the rain was coming down in torrents. I was caught out in it about two hours from Paul C. Wolfe Shelter. The path turned into a stream and giant puddles formed. Mill Creek, just before the shelter, could be crossed on a normal day by stepping on flat stones leading to the other side. On this day it was a different story altogether. The water level had risen well above the stones and a knee high ford in the storm swollen creek was required in order to cross.
Getting out of the rain at Paul C. Wolfe, I introduced myself to the three older section hikers also taking refuge beneath its roof and proceeded to change into dry clothes. As soon as that was done, I took a seat at the picnic table and devoured the sticky buns I'd packed away for today's lunch.
The section hikers took off as the rain lessened and I made a break for it when the sun first managed to peek through the clouds.
There were a few more showers on the way to Waynesboro, but nothing heavy and the sky was clearing. I passed the section hikers before reaching the road, but waited once I got there, hoping that one of them would have a phone because on the back of one of the guardrail posts was a list of telephone numbers of the local trail angels that would surely be willing to give us a ride into town if contacted. Luckily for me, the first section hiker had a mobile. He dialed the number and the voice on the other end said, "I'll be there in ten minutes." True to his word, Dubose arrived and it was door to door service from there, dropping all four of us off where we wanted to be in town. As I got out at the YMCA, Dubose asked me if I was planning on leaving tomorrow. When I said I was, he told me to give him a call and he'd take me back to the trailhead. Waynesboro does indeed have a wonderful network of trail angels.
After registering at the reception desk I walked to the nearby tenting area and set up camp. Satisfied that my things were secure, I returned to the Y and had a nice long hot shower---extra steamy. Ah! Weighed myself---160 pounds, down from my normal weight of 180 when I'd started the Florida Trail back in February. A bit worrisome. Certainly don't want to lose too much more. The remainder of the tranquil evening was spent wandering through town and getting something to eat for dinner. Once again at the tent, I could see towering thunderheads building all around, the first drops hitting the tent at eight. Read a little and then lights out.
View from Cedar Cliffs
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