Day 65
Start: Jenkins Shelter
End: US 52 – Bland, VA
Miles Hiked: 11.3
Miles on AT: 592.0
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I woke up this morning strongly convinced of one major point: I don’t do shelters. Last night, the sounds of mice scratching and scuttling along the floorboards of the shelter kept me up all night. I was afraid of them running over my hair or biting my toes. The shelter is not for me at all. Plus, I got a bit warm last night and stuck my bare foot out, only to wake up with 5 mosquito bites the next morning. This wouldn’t have happened if I had slept in my tent.
Despite the disturbed night, I got up ready to hike. Given how yesterday went, I was unsure of how today would go. Our old plans had us hiking 19 miles today, but it didn’t seem like we would be able to reach that goal. If we couldn’t do 15 miles yesterday, how would we do 19 today?
Janitor and I discussed things and agreed to hike at our own paces today and meet up around lunch time to regroup and reassess our day. I like to take it slow and warm up for the first 2-3 miles of the day, so Janitor went ahead while I took some time to wake my body up.
Again, the rhododendrons were blooming and the skies were blue. The morning terrain wasn’t too bad; a few climbs followed by nice smooth trail that overlooked the valley below. It was pleasant.
As usual, early 1900s Russia was my companion as I moved along the mountain. The morning turned into afternoon. At one point I passed Janitor heating up his lunch on the side of the trail. We hadn’t reached our rendezvous point yet and I wasn’t ready to stop for lunch, so I waved and kept moving.
Berries were starting to appear on the bushes around us and apparently the bears in the area heartily enjoyed them. I found this nearly fresh pile of bear scat full of red berries. Yum?
Eventually, I reached Brushy Mountain Outpost, a burger spot right on trail, but because it was Saturday, it was closed. Darn. A bunch of other hikers were seated around the picnic tables right outside the store. I joined them while I ate my lunch and waited for Janitor to join us. All were familiar faces, so it was fun to catch up.
When Janitor arrived, we debated what our next step would be. Spend a night in town and regroup? Continue 2 miles to the next shelter? Push a bit further? Ultimately, we decided to get off, regroup in town, and develop a schedule that will accommodate both of us. 11 mile days won’t get us to Katahdin in time!
And that’s day 65.
A version of this post originally appeared on TheTrek.co.