Today was difficult. I am half tempted to leave this journal entry at that alone, but I’ll give a better account of the day.
We woke up at 6a and snoozed the alarm until 6:30a. When I sat up, I saw a funny shape sitting on the ground down the hill. It was dark when I arrived. Warthog said, “It’s probably the privy.” Sure enough, it was. The privy was exposed. It was a raised box with a toilet seat in the middle. A hole was dug underneath. There were logs from fallen trees making a wall (sort of) to offer privacy from people on the trail that leads into the camp. It wouldn’t be much privacy, I guarantee it. Even though the privy was exposed, it beats digging cat hole. That’s my line of thinking anyway. That’s why people would use it.
We were camped near a river. Warthog and I got ready and sat down by it. I ate my breakfast bar while he looked at what’s coming up on the trail. A little bit later Wonder Woman and Snow Monkey joined. We were off!
At least we thought we were. We definitely got spoiled in our last few states with how flat it was. Now we find ourselves starting to climb mountains again. They aren’t necessarily tall mountains, but they are rocky. Our bodies are tired as they continue the process of conditioning. Higher, more difficult mountains are coming in the next states. Our bodies need to get stronger.
That was basically the entire day; climb up a hill/mountain and then take a break. It’s worth mentioning that it was almost 90 degrees again today. The heat takes out every bit of strength a person has. When we passed people we would always ask how they are doing. They almost always answered with something like, “It’s hot today!” We drank a lot of water today. Extra water means extra collecting and extra filtering – a job Warthog takes on happily. Well, maybe “willingly” is a better word.
A highlight for me; I was able to return a lost hat that I’ve been carrying for two weeks now. I saw it on the trail the day we slack packed with Snow Monkey’s family. I knew who the hat belonged to and that they were only a few miles ahead of us. The funny thing about the AT, a person can be just a couple of miles ahead or behind you and you may hardly ever see them. It’s crazy, I know, to hike for weeks with someone else’s hat. However, I knew if I left it somewhere, I would see them immediately after. I am too stubborn to do that. So I waited patiently until our paths crossed.
We were incredibly exhausted when we finally reached where we were stopping for the day. It was a rare occasion that we walked about a mile on the road instead of the AT. I felt a bit guilty, but then noticed old, worn out white blazes (AT trail markers) on the telephone poles. The trail used to walk down the street instead of wind through the woods. Once I realized that I was okay. Anyways, it was similar mileage.
We decided to camp at a power plant. No joke. The company actually has an outdoor shower and spigot for hikers to use. The water was cool, not hot. However, it was a warm enough night that it felt refreshing instead of like torture. I washed my hair and even did a quick load of laundry. I know the clothes won’t be dry by morning. I’ll have to put them on wet, but once I start moving they’ll dry fast enough. The shower and laundry meant a late bed time. I can confidently say that it was worth it. Even though the day was difficult, I was able to end all cleaned up. That alone makes up for any rocky parts today.
-Ansel