Day 7 - 9.7 miles - Heartline Campsite

Interesting events happen every day on the trail.  This morning, as the group of us were packing up for the day's hike, suddenly Well Woman let out a scream and dropped her pack as a mouse went scampering.  A little more searching found that the mouse had turned her rain pants into rain shorts.  It didn't end there.  The mouse was an expecting mouse and had built a nest that night in the pack and delivered what we thought were two babies.  This mother mouse was a determined soul.  She ran back into the shelter and near our feet, searching for her babies.  We placed the nest and two babies in a dark corner, which she quickly found and ran with each baby out into the woods.  After a few minutes she was back searching everywhere.  We were puzzled until we found a third baby in the pack.  Once momma retrieved the third one, she made one more dash into the shelter to retrieve the nest.  The lesson - NEVER underestimate what a mother is willing to do for her children.

Early start out onto the trail and four miles later I had one of those "if I only had...." moments. I came to the famous 501 shelter.  This place should be reclassified as a palace.  It is an enclosed building about 30' x 25' with twelve bunks (and probably no mice), and a huge picnic table in the center under a massive skylight.  Pizza delivery was available as evidenced by the stack of empty boxes by the recycling bins, a care taker who lives next door, well water and a port-a-john next to the shelter.  It would not surprise me if they didn't put a mint on your bunk each night.  But for four miles I could have been sleeping the prior night in the lap of luxury.  Oh, well.

More wet rocks to hike across.  I swear my balance is getting better with all this practice.  Just waiting to meet up with a rattler in all that rock, of course, they don't come out to play in the rain like we do.  Made good time to the campground.  Tenting tonight but looks like we will be getting downpours by night.  Won't and Well Woman set up camp nearby.  Again the rain at least waited til dinner was done.  Wet tent to pack in the morning.