Day 70
Start: Pine Swamp Branch Shelter
End: Mountain Lake Road
Miles Hiked: 7.6
Miles on AT: 664.5
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This shelter was a little creepy last night. Right as we were going to bed, someone came stomping into camp. They traversed the whole camp area, going up and around the hillside multiple times, their headlamp and grunts highlighting their every move.
I was a bit on edge because I don’t like not knowing who’s in the camp area with us. Logic told me it was just a night hiker looking for a place to pitch their tent, but fear whispered it was an axe murderer looking for their next victim. It didn’t help that we were relatively close to a road.
The trees at this shelter also didn’t help the situation. They dripped sap everywhere, leaving circles of stickiness on every surface. The sound of the pitter-patter was constant and in the haziness of sleep sounded like a hiker (or bear) making his or her way down trail. Eventually, the hiker (or murderer) pitched their tent, the sap noise faded into the background, and I fell asleep.
The next morning, we met our fellow thru-hiker. It was Shera. We had a good but brief conversation in the few minutes before we hit the trail. On trail, Janitor and I started the day off as usual, with me in the back doing my warm up and Janitor leading the way. I wasn’t feeling the best due to a mixture of grogginess, hunger, and fatigue. But, I eventually started to feel awake and like I might actually be able to survive today’s hike.
We had one big climb of the day and it was coming up quickly. At first, the climb was nice and gradual, but then it started getting steeper and steeper. Yesterday, Janitor and I looked up places to eat in town and found a sushi spot that looked promising. All I could think about while climbing our mountain of the day was getting the climb over with so we could cover those last few miles and eat!
We reached Bailey Gap Shelter, nearly the top of our climb, drenched in sweat and in much need of a break. We ate what little food we had left, drank our electrolyte mixes, and then continued on our way. Again, the trail’s elevation profile looked relatively flat, but the reality was much different. There were rocks littered across the trail and it wasn’t nearly the smooth hike I expected.
We passed a few hikers going SOBO, including an older gentleman who was completing a few missed sections to wrap up his 3rd AT thru hike.
The plants quickly became wild and untamed during the last 2-3 miles of trail. They were practically reaching out to grab me from all directions. They brushed up against my whole body and I was grateful for my pants and sleeves, but I wondered what might be stuck in my hair.
After fighting my way through the bushes, I finally emerged onto a dirt road. Whew! I had left Janitor to hike at his own pace, so I waited for him while I fantasized about sushi. And it didn’t disappoint. The sushi was soooo good, maybe some of the best I’d had on trail so fair.
The rest of the day consisted of laundry, showers, and blog posts (the usual). I’m ready to relax for a couple of hours, sleep, and then get back on trail
And that’s day 70.
A version of this post originally appeared on TheTrek.co.