Pedlar Dam (Lynchburg, VA Reservoir), Bald Knob (4059'),

Another cloudy, rainy day. We packed up the wet tent, now heavy with water, and hiked to Pedlar Dam and used the dam tender's phone to call home. All well on the home front, we continued our hike. Hiking up Brown Mtn. Creek was enchanting. Indications of a long gone farming community line the creek banks. The sound of running stream water is relaxing and peaceful; coupled with the wonderful smell of spring-wet woods, it made our hike most enjoyable despite the dampness.

We took a lunch break at Brown Mountain Creek Shelter and decided to move on to the next shelter. We knew we'd have to push - it meant a 3100 foot climb in the next 5.6 miles over Bald Knob (4059'), down the saddle between Bald and Cold Mtns (4022'), to the Cow Camp Shelter, ½ a mile down a side trail in the saddle. We saw a large black snake on the trail, which Brett was very careful to avoid. (Snakes and lightning are not on his list of favorite things found in nature!)

The dam tender had warned us to stay off Bald Mtn. because of the forecast for T-storms - lightning there had recently killed a hiker. As we started up the mountain, it was cloudy and humid and no threat of T-storms. It was a very rugged climb, up steep switchbacks. It did not matter if it rained or not, we were soaked with perspiration. If we stopped, we got a chill from the breeze. That, and a strong desire to reach the summit before any storms, kept us moving. We were not hurting as much as yesterday, but we were tired.

As we neared the summit, there was distant thunder. Very faint and distant. As we continued the arduous ascent, the clouds, fog and mist enveloped us. Then a torrential downpour with high winds opened up. Brett and I separated for safety, the theory being that if one of us was hit, the other could attempt to rescue him. As we walked through the darkening, chilly gray mist and pouring rain, the mountaintop trail lit up like the inside of a fluorescent tube and thunder crashed loudly. Brett, who had been in the lead, disappeared into the fog, his bright yellow rain poncho flapping in the breeze as he ran full speed over wet rocks down off the summit of the mountain. Surely he had to set some sort of speed record for running with a full pack and not breaking a leg!

At 5:30 P.M., dark and pouring a steady rain, Brett waited nervously for me at the shelter trail and we hiked down to find a wet hiker already there. 71 year young Yogi B, a southbound long distance hiker from Maine, had taken up residence and was drying out his gear. Caught in the same storm we were, he admitted to making a mistake putting dry clothes on after the morning rain only to be caught in the rain again and now being with no dry clothes. He overcame that little problem, and many others. We talked with this amazing and likeable guy and learned a lot from him.

"Firefly , Yogi B" and our gear drying out at Cow Camp Gap Shelter

Here is where the right gear pays off. Fast drying nylon and polyester fabrics will dry to a wearable point inside the shelter, overnight. My MSR whisperlite stove works fine, and safely inside the shelter - out of the rain. No fooling with a campfire, wet wood, and so forth. Timberland waterproof leather boots with SNOW_PROOF waterproof dressing kept my feet dry and helped keep them blister free. And a RULE we both followed: keep a wool or fleece hat and shirt dry for wearing after hiking.

It felt really good to have a hot supper and crawl into our warm, dry sleeping bags about 8:30 P.M. Rain falling on the shelter roof lulled us to sleep.