Miles Hiked Today - 11.7
Total Miles Hiked on AT - 1906.5/2,193 (86.94%)
Rattle River Hostal (1894.8) to Gentian Pond Shelter (1906.5) - tent at Gentian Pond Shelter
Total ascent - 4,178’
Total descent - 2,782’
Total States Completed - 12/14
**Rain - Slight drizzle on a couple separate occasions. Mostly clear and nice weather.
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1900 miles!! Getting closer to that 2K marker. Miles are drifting away slower right now because of the aggressive terrain and shorter daily mileage.
We talked with a number of SOBO hikers today. Most started around July 4th and look to get to Springer Mtn in Georgia around Thanksgiving. Most of them are telling us it’s really tough for another 100 miles - then it eases up into Katahdin.
Another extremely challenging day out there. Only 11.7 miles - we left at 7:30am and only arrived into camp at 4:30pm. 4,178’ vertical ascent - with lots of steep climbs and technical footwork. I know it sounds like a broken record - but NH and southern Maine aren’t consistently voted the toughest sections of the AT by accident.
I hiked with Slider/Granger the entire day - and with Sam most of the day. It’s fun to have people to talk with during the day to keep your mind off the hiking. I ran into Empty Space today. I haven’t seen him since Harpers Ferry. He went back to complete the Smokies and has been burning up the track to catch me. He’s a great guy and I’m really happy for him - it’s always amazing how frequently you see people from many months ago. It’s what makes this AT thru-hike so interesting.
I continue to be exhausted. I rested for about an hour upon arrival into camp - then ate dinner and talked a bit to the Tramily. I was in my tent around 7:45pm. It’s now 9:52pm. I’ve fallen asleep a couple different times in trying to write the blog. I really enjoy documenting each day of the journey - but I’m sure the quality of the blog has been lacking recently - it’s probably not the best to write when you’re so tired. I’ll be able to look back in a few years and understand how I was feeling at the time with my words (that’s sort of the intention)
Well - no internet/cell coverage tonight. I’ll try to post tomorrow on course. A big day tomorrow - I finish up NH and head into my final state of the journey - Maine. I haven’t 100% decided on the song to bring us there - but I’m close.
OK - I’m going to stop fighting this exhaustion - and officially shut it down. Here’s to continued strength and good health!
Great scenery today
Ridge line views
One of the many ponds
More ponds
Water source at shelter
Early morning leaving hostal
Slider coming up trail
Granger coming up trail
1900!!
Resting at shelter
Gentian Pond Shelter
Pond views
Awesome!
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