Make it count: Day #84

Thursday, June 4th - Day #84 - AT Hike

Miles Hiked Today - 12.4
Total Miles Hiked on AT - 1136.4/2,193 (51.82%)

Boiling Springs (Lisa’s Hostal) to Carlisle (Red Roof Inn). Hotel at Red Roof Inn

Total ascent - 814’
Total descent - 796’

Total States Completed - 6/14

**Rain Day - heavy rains and storms in the afternoon and evening. No rain during hike - just hot and muggy

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Coming to you live from the Red Roof Inn. It’s late here - about 11pm. So - I’m going to make this a quick one

Today was a really good day. It was very busy with lots of stuff happening. I’m purposefully trying to be more social - to mix up the days a bit. I honestly feel like this is critical for me to complete this journey - I can’t solely be focused on “hiking “x” amount of miles each day”. I have to distract myself from the day to day grind for more enjoyment - and ultimately - with luck and good health - it will bring me rewards down the road.

The day started at Lisa’s Hostal. We got a 7:30am pickup by our shuttle driver. He took us out to the AT. Caruso, Sherpa Mike, and myself were joined today by JD. JD is a friend of Sherpa Mike who hiked with him back in 2014. JD lives in Carlisle and has completed the AT back in 2014.

We hiked 12.4 miles on very flat terrain. It was one of the easier days you’ll find on the AT. As I mentioned yesterday - we had lighter packs today - as we had dropped off some of our gear at the Red Roof Inn this morning. We got started around 8:30am and completed the hike a little before 1pm

JD had parked his car at the finish line. So - once we completed the hike and got a couple snacks and a Gatorade from the gas station, JD brought us back to the hotel. Then - a quick shower, laundry, and 1-2 hours of rest. We then went to the grocery store for our resupply.

Finally, JD has a friend that owns a local microbrew in Carlisle- a really nice place in the middle of town. We were the only ones in the place - with Covid-19 restrictions. We had a really fun evening - ordered some Chinese food from a local place, played corn hole, and drank a few microbrews while listening to music. JD is a really impressive person - he’s travelled and hiked all over the world. He has a number of his pictures in the bar (where people often buy them).

We only got back to the hotel around 9:30pm. I soaked my legs/feet in an Epsom Salt bath and then packed up all my gear. Tomorrow starts a long trek to the Delaware Water Gap - at Mile 1296. This is about 160 tough miles away. Caruso and Sherpa Tom are cool dudes - I’m going to try and hang with these guys for a little while. They’re both impressive people - Caruso is a highly decorated Air Force vet and Sherpa Tom has done really well in corporate finance. Both have travelled and done a ton of impressive things - very interesting.

Here’s to getting it rolling again tomorrow! Goodnight from Pennsylvania!