5/8/08

This was the day that everything went wrong, but it was all ok.

First was leaving some things behind at Kincora hostel. Nothing irreplaceable but still. Then were a couple of forgotten errands that meant I had to have Bob from the hostel leave me off in “Downtown” Hampton, TN, instead of on the AT – I hitched out to the trail by 10am. Then there was the problem with one of my poles that I didn’t get fixed until 4pm. Then there was taking an .5 mile wrong turn. Then there was an .6 mile detour for water. Then it turned cold and started raining. And yet I still knocked 13 miles before stopping at 6:30, and felt great. It was a bit messy getting camp set up, but now I am fed, warm and dry, snug in my hammock under my tarp as the rain continues to come down. I’ll finish my raspberry tea and go to sleep as soon as it’s dark. Life is good, at least until tomorrow, when I’ll have to put on wet clothes in the morning – yech.

Of course, the way this day has gone, a bear might come in the night…

5/9/08

No bear last night, but it did rain pretty hard most of the night, which kept me up. I was dry and warm, but the wind blew pretty good and I was a bit antsy. One of the downsides to the hammock as opposed to a tent is that even when you are dry and warm, you still don’t have that psychological benefit of a fully enclosed bubble that a tent affords you.

I’d hope to get up early and really do big miles today, but it was still misty /drizzly in the morning, and it was hard to get going, especially after a poor sleep. But once I did, the trail today was pretty easy – ups and downs, but nothing big. Finally call it a day at Abington Gap Shelter – 18 miles, a personal best.

Tomorrow – Damascus.