It started raining early in the morning. Over seven hours of rain. I can’t complain, I knew it was in the forecast, and we need it.
I had a good, undisturbed night, and awoke to the sound of rain on my tarp. Heavy rain.
The forecast was for showers of around a tenth of an inch per hour. The reality was a lot heavier than that!
I didn’t fancy hiking in a downpour, and studying the weather radar (I had cell coverage on the top of the ridge), I could see it would ease off around 1-2 PM. I did some math, checked my notes from a previous hike of the trail, and reckoned that if I left at 2 PM, I could make it to Fiddler Spring before it got dark, though I’d have to move fairly quickly. No dallying on the way.
One good thing about the heavier-than-expected rain. It allowed me to top up my water reserves so I wouldn’t need to stop for water before I got to Fiddler Spring.
The only problem with this revised plan was that any delays would have me descending a treacherous and steep social trail in the dark. I decided that if I got delayed, I could wait the night out on the ridge above Fiddler Spring if necessary.
At 1 PM, I started the slow process of packing up camp under the tarp, and by 2 PM I was ready for the trail.
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