We woke late and moved slowly, still feeling tired from the prior day. Frank had a ferocious headache, so we waited until 9 to let it subside.
The effects of 9 days hiking were definitely wearing on the crew. We got another late start and slowly climbed up a dry draw to the base of the Big Red summit. A few scouts felt too tired, and we split up — 4 to rest and play cards, while 4 of us dropped our packs and quickly scrambled up the short hike to the summit. At the top, we were surprised to find, instead of a treeless view, a band of 3 rangers, including Kentucky's ranger, Dan. They were covering 7 peaks and 28 miles on their day off. They shared stories and some surplus chocolate chips from the commisary.
Rejoining the other scouts at the base of Big Red, we descended the valley to Black Mountain staff camp. Unfortunately, we were caught in a heavy hail storm, with pea-sized pellets pelting us as we made muddy stream crossings. Undeterred, the boys burst into song and hurried to reach the shelter of camp.
After waiting out the rain in the blacksmith forge, the scouts were rewarded for their patience with a chance to shoot black powder rifles and split wood in the axeyard.
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