Today we hiked nearly eighteen miles. We left camp around 8:30a; Kirby, Wonder Woman, Snow Monkey, Warthog, and I. We ran into Atlas a couple of times, but never got to see Lotus.
The day kind of flew by. In the morning we played rhyming games where each person would add a few words to the sentence. One started with, “I was walking in Shenandoah, wearing a feather boa, and met a guy named Noah…” I can’t remember the rest, but it was really funny. At least I thought so. Well, maybe my opinion is colored by my limited access to comedy. It was so hot and muggy this afternoon, I had sweat pouring down and I stunk bad.
At one point I had to stop for a bit because I felt like I was going to vomit or pass out or do both. We pushed harder because we know bad weather is coming and we want to make it to the wayside/camp store before it does. The building has laundry, bathrooms with showers, and food!
We arrived at the store early evening and stayed through the inclement weather. Each taking turns showering, cooking dinner, and doing laundry. Basically, we took the place over. We were respectful enough to wait to pull everything out until the store itself was closed. The rain didn’t last as long as expected, but the extra cleaning errands kept us around later. It was 9:30p when we left.
The trail was thick with fog. The plan was to hike back to the trail and find a “stealth” spot – a cleared site intended for camping. Unfortunately, it took a while to find a place where the terrain would even accommodate a campsite. Kirby, Warthog, and I set up together. Snow Monkey and Wonder Woman decided to push on a bit to find a better location. It was 11p when we were heading to bed. I was tired and glad to finally lay down. The morning will come far too soon.
-ansel