Day 41: bonus track

Dinner was the last of the mystery dehydrated meals. Asian turkey and grits.  Things that whoever made it probably didn't know. Turkey jerky just gets wet and tough instead if being just tough when boiled. Grits will never cook, no matter how long you cook them. They remain tiny inedible gravel. Hence the name grits.

Someone reported seeing a bear today in the shelter book. So with light dwindling I pack my food and go to do a bear hang. Step one of bear hang is to find a rock to tie your string to. So you can throw it over a branch. There are no rocks at  this shelter. There are huge stones embedded in the earth sticking out of the ground, but nothing resembling a stone you could throw. I guess all the other hikers picked them up and took them home. Or my personal theory, the bear came by and took them all so hikers would get frustrated and leave their food out. I had lots of time to come up with theories as a ranged all around the shelter looking for rocks. Thankfully the other hikers were already gone to the tenting areas. I finally kicked a huge rock out of the ground. It was nearly spherical and impossible to tie a string to. I threw it twice and lost it in the dark. It's now not just dusk, its dark, I have my headlamp on still trying to find a rock. Finally kick another big stone free, wrap my line around it about twenty times tying granny knots around it. There is no way this rock is escaping. I throw it over the limb first try, and have to dodge as it swings directly for my face.

It's now dark, I have no camp, I just have a full pack and every mosquito in the swamp hovering around me, looking for a hole in the deet stink. So I built my tent and threw it in the shelter. Which is really rude taking up that much space. But I'm alone here and hopefully nobody will show up. Mostly alone. I hear mice now.

Totally frustrating night spent limping around in the dark. I almost just left that food bag out for the bear. But the fact that I kept looking for that elusive rock means I don't think I'm close to quitting yet.