Day 59
Start: VA 670
End: Partnership Shelter
Miles Hiked: 7.7
Miles on AT: 534.3
Follow my journey on Instagram (@jenbrownhikes) for more updates!
Back on trail and back solo on the AT. Janitor still wasn’t feeling up to getting back to hiking, but I was more than happy to get the miles done. We have a scheduled working zero day in 3 days, so this section will be a little short at just 2 nights. I also planned this section with his sore ankle in mind and laid off the miles a bit, so this will be an easy section.
I only had about 8 miles to complete today so I took my time. I got on trail close to 1 pm, with the sky looking a bit iffy. I put my pack cover on to keep the rain at bay, turned on my audiobook, and started hiking. I’m actually really enjoying learning about Stalin because the book is teaching me a lot about Russian history, helping me place current events in the correct historical context.
The trail today was a bit unremarkable. I had a nice view of Rye Valley and sat for a while watching the dark clouds roll over me and into the valley. It started to rain a bit, but the tree cover was dense enough that I only felt a few drops.
I walked along the ridge for a while and then the trail took me down. I found a furry friend on trail just before arriving at Partnership Shelter at 5 pm. See? Easy, simple day.
The good thing about this shelter was that I could order pizza! With a $30 minimum, I waited for another hiker to arrive so we could go in on an order together. His name was Forager; we had a good time getting to know each other while we waited at the visitor’s center for our food to arrive. There were a bunch of other hikers already at the shelter, including a few I had met at Mountaineer Shelter a few sections before. I sat and chatted with the group until sundown; it was really nice to have all the company and conversation.
As the night wound down, I set up my tent and got ready for bed. The day was easy, but the highlight was definitely hanging out with other hikers. Rain is in the forecast for this leg, but hopefully it won’t be too bad.
And that’s day 59.
A version of this post originally appeared on TheTrek.co.