Make it count: Day #70

Thursday, May 21 - Day #70 - AT Hike

Miles Hiked Today - 12.4
Total Miles Hiked on AT - 918.8/2,193 (41.90%)

Hightop Hut (906.4) to Bearfence Mountain Hut (918.8) - tent at Bearfence Mountain Hut

Total ascent - 2,711’
Total descent - 2,575’

Total States Completed - 3/14

**Rain Day - gloomy all day. Periodic rains and heavy winds throughout the day. Started raining nonstop about 5pm - still raining now.

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Coming to you live from my tent at the Bearfence Mountain Hut. A nasty, bummer of a day today. Rain is currently pelting off my tent with gale force winds rattling my foundation.

Oh-boy. If there’s one thing I will not miss about the AT - it’s the rain. Today was gloomy, overcast, foggy, spooky, ominous, unsettling, bone-chilling cold, and unsatisfying — all at the same time.

I left camp around 7:30am - just ahead of Owl Cat, Learning Curve, and Wiki. Those guys were just going to hike 3.3 miles and then get a shuttle into town for a resupply. Their intentions were to just resupply and come back in a couple hours to walk to the shelter I’m at right now. They’re not here —— they mentioned a possibility of just getting a hotel and waiting out the rain. Clearly - this is what they did. I’m sort of kicking myself that I didn’t go along. I didn’t need a resupply and they stated they would be coming back. I should have seen that one coming from a mile away. So ——— all alone in the rain for me.

I got to the shelter around 1:30pm. Man - I just didn’t know what to do. My body definitely had more miles in it today. 12.4 is lame. But — the day started really foggy with periodic rain. This kept up all morning. Around noon, the winds started coming in and it turned really cold. I had another 8 miles to a campsite or another 11.5 to the next Shelter. I decided I didn’t want to stay at the campsite because if it gets really bad with rain/wind - I can always fall back to the shelter for cover. So - either go another 11.5 miles starting at 1:30pm (when this distance would take 5-6 hours to complete) or cut my losses and stay here at Bearfence tonight. It was an internal struggle making this decision. It came down to me deciding it just wasn’t smart to go for it. If the floodgates opened (which they did at 5) and I was still on the course - it could get brutally cold and dangerous out there.

So - here I was at the shelter at 1:30pm. I put up my tent. I then tried starting a fire - but everything was drenched and I didn’t have enough stuff to make it happen. I just sat down in the shelter staring out. —- (Sitting at the shelter alone in the middle of the woods in the middle of nowhere is one thing - but doing it while freezing in the rain - that ups the ante)

I sat around for a little while, ate dinner and some snacks, collected my water for tomorrow— and I was down for the night at 5:38pm. I took about an hour nap (just to clear the head). Now - it’s 7:16pm and I’m almost done with the blog. If things go as planned - I’ll be asleep by 8pm (before dark). I’d like to have a rebound day tomorrow. It’s supposed to rain all night and through early afternoon tomorrow. If I can power through the morning - hopefully some clearing conditions will be coming my way.

Here’s to not sugar-coating it. Days like this - when you’re walking in rain-drenched shoes all day, and there’s not a view to be seen because of the gloom and fog — it’s just not that much fun.

Here’s to shaking it off and coming back strong tomorrow!!