Snores Galores!

Last night the gang stayed at Bryant Ridge Shelter, which happens to be one of the largest shelters on the AT.  It has three tiers of sleeping space so naturally, Hansel, Gretel and Two Bad selected the very top tier.  The whole night time sleeping thing was all going well until Grandpa showed up. 

Let’s just talk about Grandpa for a minute.  According to Gretel he is quite a character.  This middle-aged fellow with a SUPER Boston accent started thru-hiking the trail with basically nothing at all.  He had a Jansport backpack- the kind you pack your books in when you are in high school.  He was using a sleeping bag that was meant to fit a two-year-old.  He hiked in blue jeans, a cotton sweatshirt, and a pair of work boots.  So far he has gone through about 6 pairs of boots because he keeps getting really trashy old things.  His current boots seem to be holding up pretty well though.  At last he acquired a pair of real hiking boots.  People have been giving him things along the way, so he now has some slightly more practical equipment.  Some guy at a hostel gave him a proper backpack, and he got a sleeping bag from a hiker box.  In the words of Gretel, “he is looking pretty legit.”   Grandpa decided to start hiking the Trail after making a phone call to his sister in Florida.  He asked her what the weather was like down there.   She told him it was about 80 degrees, so he figured that probably meant it was about 70 in Georgia.  Needless to say, the snowstorms, freezing temperatures and wind that he hit in the Smokey’s were not something he was properly prepared for!

Hansel and Gretel have crossed paths with Grandpa several times.  It is hard to miss him because he is a notoriously bad snorer and he has a history of rolling into shelters really late at night and then waking everyone up with his nocturnal grunts.  This is exactly what happened in Bryant Ridge Shelter.  At some point in the night, Hansel and Gretel were awakened by the growls of Grandpa.  Now, considering it must have been dark and late by the time Grandpa arrived, it is easy to assume that he would have chosen to bunk up on one of the lower tiers.  Oh no.  Grandpa decided to climb all the way up to the third tier with Hansel, Gretel, and Two Bad where he smooshed himself into the corner right next to Hansel!  Unable to sleep with Grandpa snoring right next to him, Hansel gave Grandpa a little kick to wake him up, then Hansel and Gretel snuggled back into their sleeping bags and tried to fall asleep as quickly as possible before Grandpa’s snores resumed. 

While we are on the topic of snoring, let’s bring our attention back to Two Bad.  Although he may deny it, Two Bad Dad has been known to get a little noisy in his sleep as well; therefore, ground rules have been set.  Two Bad is not allowed to sleep on his back when they are spending the night in a shelter.  Side lying only.   He snores way too loud if he is lying on his back. 

That being said, Two Bad has been enjoying the nights when they camp in their tents away from shelters.  As a matter of fact, the whole gang has been enjoying this.  Shelters are great because they are convenient and require little preparation, but everyone is much more comfortable in their own tents on the ground.  Their first night camping was wonderful.  Two Bad made a nice fire, he was able to sleep comfortably on his back, and everyone dozed peacefully until morning! 


Happy trails and a good night's sleep!

Rainy Day Addendum

After posting about Hansel and Gretel's rainy day, I received some additional stories about their experience in Deep Gap Shelter that simply can not be left out.  Therefore, let us return to March 27th.

Deep Gap was a fairly basic shelter.  Three walls.  Roof.  Though the loft made it slightly unique.  This is where Hansel and Gretel draped all of their wet clothing after their full day of torrential down-pour.  They were also able to sleep up in the loft which meant they did not have to pitch their tent somewhere on the ground outside.  That night, the shelter ended up sleeping 9 people all together.  This is where the stories begin.

At some point after Handel and Gretel arrived, they were joined by two rather stinky hikers.  It is certainly not uncommon to have a bit of an odor after hiking a few days on the trail, not showering regularly, and living in the same set of clothes for days on end.  They just isn't enough room in your pack for extra clothing, and as you might imagine, showers stalls are hard to come by in the middle of the woods.  Still, these hikers were a few notches beyond the expected stink.  Perhaps the rain was sort of pulling the ripeness out of them.  We can not be sure.

As night fell and bed time arrived a few more surprises seemed to scurry their way into the shelter.  It seems some woodland friends decided to join the 9 hikers and the squeaking and pitter-pattering of little mice kept Gretel tucked tight in her sleeping bag, worried that one might decide to join her.  One mouse actually did hop right on top of her sleeping bag in the middle of the night!  Fortunately, he hopped right off rather than sticking around to snuggle.

As if the mouse slumber party wasn't enough to keep Hansel and Gretel tossing and turning, one of their fellow snoozers, Red Fred, started producing the most epic snore ever experience by human ears!  Hansel reports:

"Oh my gosh!  Oh my goodness!!  I don't know how this guy made the sounds that he made!"

Around 10:30, Hansel and Gretel both were startled awake and said to each other, "Oh my gosh.  What the heck IS that?  How is he DOING that?"  Red Fred's snoring was constant and it reverberated the whole shelter!  All night long this big guy made sounds that, even when Hans and Gretel tried to breath their very hardest, they could not even come close to making.  At one point in the night, another hiker that was sleeping next to Red Fred gave up on trying to sleep, turned on his flashlight, and starting reading a book.

Other than the epic snoring and mice visitors, Hansel and Gretel reported the shelter was quite nice and it was great to be able to sleep out of the rain.

Happy trails!