Mile 1,143.2
Elevation 1,119.0 feet
Miles Hiked 13.8
It’s back to the trail today. I woke up at the Day’s Inn about 6:30 AM and began packing up my gear. I had gone down to the breakfast room, but it was a zoo. Anyway once everything was packed, I made another attempt at breakfast and succeeded.
At 9:45 AM I was on my way. The first part of the trail was pretty easy. I found myself walking through pastures and farmland. It was hot already, and the sun was beating down on me. Needless to say, I’d rather be in the woods.
Finally by mid-afternoon I was back in the woods where it was noticeably cooler out of the sun. There were a couple of steep climbs where I passed a few other hikers. That’s a novelty for me since I never pass anyone.
The trail turned rocky and that slowed me down, but I was still making good time. I arrived at the shelter just a little before 5:00 PM. I had made good time despite the steep climb and rocks.
About thirty minutes after I arrived, a couple I passed earlier came into the shelter area. The guy had no way to treat water, so we went down to the stream together, and I filtered a couple of liters of water for him.
While fixing dinner, a father and young son hiked into the shelter, so it is going to be a full shelter tonight. As I’m typing this journal, the father and son are watching some program on a phone. It’s dark out and my sleeping bag is calling.
