August 6, 18:30, Big Branch Shelter: OK, here's the plan. My ride is meeting me at the road tonight, between 8-9 pm. I'm heading out of the shelter and up the last 1.1 miles of road in about 30 minutes, which will make me 2 hours early for pickup. The thing is, A.) I don't want to hike in the rain - or the dark, and B.) I don't want to sit there in the rain. I wish it would let up for a few hours!

I had cell phone problems all day long - I only got reception on mountain peaks. When I finally got through, plans had changed. Grmble. So, I made for Big Branch Shelter to wait for a good time to head up the road. And here I sit...

The rain hit just after I started up Baker Mtn. The approach trail was exposed ridgeline. I started up and stared at the (very) dark clouds above. But the sun was shining and the wind was blowing the clouds away from me - and the summit. So I kept going, but I was very uneasy and kept stopping to check the weather. Finally, about halfway up, I stopped and *listened*. No birds. Oh, shit! Down I went, and shortly after I started down, the wind picked up and had me scrambling on all fours by the cliffs. Oh, did I mention the cliffs? Then the first drops hit. Great, all fours, heavy pack, wet rocks, cliffs, and winds strong enough to literally knock me off my feet. At least nothing else could go wrong, right?

*Rumble* "Oh, shit!" turned into "Oh, FUCK!" and I raced down so fast I don't remember the trip. I hit the "Bad Weather Bypass" at a dead run, tripping over rocks and tree roots the whole way.

The lightning never really materialized, although the rain surely has. It's continued to rain all day. We really need the water, things are too dry out here. I've passed countless dry streams and even a dry piped spring. But does it have to rain when I need to walk a mile and then wait for an hour or two???

It's 19:00. Time to start moving, and the rain just goes on....

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