7/26/03 We were exhausted and could barely muster the strength to put up the tent or cook and eat dinner. In this area the tenting is allowed on platforms only. Tumble expertly hung our food bag out of the reach of bears, mice, and porcupines while Rough talked to the caretaker, Ben from Michigan, about our plans for tomorrow. Although the wind was blowing hard the sky was clear and we were unsure if we should put the rain fly over our tent. Rough asked Ben about the weather so Ben turned on his weather radio for the forecast. Unsurprisingly, it called for overnight showers so Tumble stretched the fly over the tent. There are fees at some shelters and tenting areas, but as life-members of the GMC we received a fee-free night (we get one per year). As the sun set Rough thought he heard an animal trying to get to our food bag, so Tumble got up and discovered the creaking, rasping noise was just one fallen tree rubbing against another. We are both tired of being wet and feeling beat up from the muddy, slippery trail.