Mile 568.1,
Elevation 4406
Miles Hiked 11.6
After a breakfast of eggs and bacon, the owner of the Appalachian Dreamer Hostel, Mack, drove Ghost and me to the trail head at 9:30. My goal for the day was to get to the Chestnut Knob Shelter.
There were the usual ups and downs, but the last one leading to the shelter was a killer. There was a 2,000 foot elevation gain over 4.6 miles. I arrived at the shelter at 4:45. Ghost was long gone. He was putting on some miles. Another hiker, Jukebox, was there and for a while it looked like we would be the only ones staying at the shelter. However, a couple of other hikers wandered in late. I had washed my clothes the night before at the hostel and that proved to be a waste of effort. The trail was muddy and to make matters worse, I went down after crossing a stream. I had just crossed the stream on a narrow log. Feeling cocky, I ran up the enbankment and that’s where I went down. What a mess.
This shelter is unique in that it has windows and a door. That will come in handy tonight since the temperature is supposed to go down to 33 degrees. It’ll be a cold night.
