Laurel Creek Campsite

It cooled enough last night that I was able to build a fire near my hammock and heat my dinner. Mountain House dehydrated meals taste much better hot. Because I spent the night, I didn't have any trouble making absolutely sure the fire is completely out. Taking time to do that is critical on the Trail, and not doing so is why we've already had two major fires this year. If you can't put your hand in the ashes, don't leave it!

It was raining on and off all morning, so I took my time packing up and took a quick video to show the benefits of hammock camping:

• We can camp on a steep slope as long as there are trees, which means we have many more choices regarding where we camp.
• We can avoid the depression caused by numerous people tent camping on the same ground, which results in lying in a virtual bathtub if it rains.
• We aren't on the ground, so there is less likelihood of bugs and vermin getting to us.
• Forest can eat and then hang out in the hammock to digest his food and keep him out of the way while I pack up.
• Forest's hammock is the last thing in my pack and the first thing out of it when I'm ready to set up camp again. Hanging Forest's hammock, my hammock and the tarp in that sequence keeps me from having to adjust any of them once they are up.

At about 11 a.m. it stopped raining. We hiked about a tenth of a mile back to the water source, and then about half a mile back to the Trail to be on our way. Our destination for the day was a stream just a little past the Trail's intersection with Laurel Creek—about 8 miles up the trail.