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Pine Swamp Shelter and the chilly night.

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I finally made it to the Pine Swamp Shelter. I had hiked over 13 miles and was completely exhausted. My water once again was gone and all I wanted was a nice long drink.I dropped my pack, grabbed my bottle and plodded down the hill to fill up. The water was about 100 yards down from the shelter and I was very disappointed once I got there. Swamp-water
Compared to the sparkling, wonderful water the night before at Limestone Spring, this was nasty, smelly, murky sludge. Tired, thirsty and beaten, I swilled down a couple of gulps, even without treating it.
I returned to the shelter, made some supper and made my bed. Steve mentioned that his knee was hurting but I was so focused on my own issues it didn't really register.
I snuggled into my sleeping bag and watched the full moon rise. We were lucky enough to be here on a "super" full moon. A rare occurrence when the moon is 14% brighter and at it's closest to the Earth. It was a crystal clear night and the moon shone into the shelter like a spotlight. The misery of the day faded as the wonder in the sky smiled down at us.
I slept like the dead that night, only waking in the early morning hours to hear some little animal screeching and howling nearby. Never did figure out what it was, but I just lay there and hoped the bear-bag line hadn't dropped and provided a feast for the animal worth screeching about.
A crystal clear night in winter also means a very chilly night. I threw a tarp over my sleeping bag to help limit my heat loss. I woke in the morning covered in ice. My water bottle was frozen and it was COLD! The hardest part about that was simply how warm my sleeping bag was, and I knew I had to get out of it eventually. There was more bad news, but that's another story.

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