I was up at 6:30 this morning so that I could eat breakfast before heading out for my hike. Eggs, bacon and 2 hot cakes. A little heavy to start out on a 6 hour hike but I needed the calories. There were some police officers, Fire and EMS professionals at the table next to me and I asked them if they had any inside information on the potential weather risks next week from Imelda. Unfortunately, they did not have any updates but they did warn me of thunderstorms this afternoon. 

I began my hike at 8:00 am and overall it was a decent hike today. Just as I was getting on the trail I saw the carcass of a deer that had clearly been dead for quite a while. I had two fairly steep climbs and four or five smaller ones. The trail today took me through three cow pastures which offered up some scenic views. Thankfully, there were significantly fewer cobwebs and spiders to deal with today than yesterday. Also, the forest was much more open, with fewer areas of dense vegetation then I have seen so far. I encountered 4 ladder-like structures, which I have not previously seen on the AT, that I had to climb up and over. These structures allow hikers to clear barbed-wire fences but are a little tricky to navigate with a backpack on, but I had no problem getting over them. I passed A RIP sign, posted on a tree, with the name of someone, whom I assume was a hiker that died on the trail. I googled his name and this is what I found: “The hiker with the trail name “Stronghold” who died on the Appalachian Trail in Virginia was Ronald S. Sanchez Jr., a 43-year-old Army veteran from Oklahoma. He was fatally stabbed in May 2019 by another hiker in a disturbing, unprovoked attack.” Very, very sad.

I met 7 hikers on the trail today – one northbound the others southbound. The northbound hiker I passed was Taj Mahal. He had just stopped atop a mountain, unfolded his hiking chair and was going to read a while. He really seems to enjoy his annual week and one-half retreat on the AT. 

I arrived at my destination, a community pavilion facility, one hour earlier than planned. Fortunately, I had a cell signal three miles before my pickup point and was able to text Carrie on my early arrival time. She arrived about twenty minutes after I did. Less than five minutes after she arrived the skies opened up and it was a downpour, and is still raining at 5:00 pm. So, it has now rained every day this week that I have been on the trail. Keeping my fingers crossed for a better weather pattern next week. 

Ever since the start of my hike I have had spotty coverage of my emergency GPS device. Last night I finally realized there was an activation step that I was omitting, which caused the device to go into sleep mode after being in service for one hour. This morning I completed the activation step and the device worked as it should. 

Tomorrow will be a rest day and trying to figure out what happens with my plans for next week due to the threat of Imelda. My cousin, Renee, sent me an encouraging text this afternoon that said it appears the system may not make landfall and, instead, will head back out over the ocean. That would be a great outcome and I am keeping my fingers crossed. 

Also, I am going to try and reduce the weight of my backpack by mailing some items back home which I think I can manage without. When you have so little to begin with, it is very challenging to give up even more of that. But the added weight is so much more of a burden on my body during these long hikes. One item that had been a luxury is my iPad as it is so much easier to type these blog postings on then my phone. But it, and the case it is in, are quite heavy. I am doing the post this evening on my iPhone as a test and I think I can manage with just that, though there may be more spelling or grammatical errors as they are a bit harder to catch on a smaller device. 

Lastly, I have not been posting my daily miles mainly as a benefit to me. The competitive spirit in me wants to always try to do as much as, or more, than the prior day, and that is not what I am out to accomplish this time around. As I said in my initial blog post, I am out on the trail this time for as long as I am enjoying the experience (and as long as Mother Nature doesn’t get to crazy).

Wishing you all a nice weekend.