The grin is back!

The past three days with the pup have gone perfectly. We couldn't have asked for better weather, and with clear skies and no thunder Hobbes quickly returned to his same old happy self, bouncing around the campsite and chasing every squirrel he could find. He's done so well that it makes me want to keep him with me for another week, but I know eventually the thunder will hit again and the fear will come back. So today is his final day!

We passed over Bald Mountain yesterday which gets its name from the lack of trees on top. So you get a wonderful 360 degree view, a rarity in the Appalachians with such dense tree coverage and underbrush.

My battle with the spiders is ongoing. I think they're winning at this point but I remain defiant. I will fight til the bitter end. By which I mean I'll run away as fast as I can until no other option is available at which point I will bow to my mighty spider overlords.

The rodents have been at me again as well. A mouse took a nibble out of my tent. Not sure what he was after as I've been very careful not to leave any food in there, and I can promise after this many days I don't smell inviting myself. Either way a hole has appeared. I patched it up with some fabric repair tape which I hadn't used before but I'm very impressed with. Lighter and more flexible than duct tape, and I'd imagine it will age better in the weather. While duct tape is a great repair-all in a pinch it does tend to get nasty and start to break down over time, and given what these tents cost I'm much happier with a repair that will last. I think I'll start carrying a bit in my regular fix-it-kit.

In completely unrelated news I've accepted a sales position at Tent Tape Inc. "Tent Tape! Tape for your tent! (c)"