This is really the entry for the 25th. Jay and I were up and at the restaurant for breakfast at 8 it was pouring rain. We steeled ourselves in shorts and tshirt and headed out to Sassafras Gap shelter about 7 miles away and straight up out of this gap we went straight through and arrived beat ,cold and hungry . My fingers couldn't pop the clasps on my pack. It was almost dark and we were pretty miserable. We got everything wrung out and dry cloths on but it took a while to warm up. Jay is an interesting fellow. We kept each other going with chatter. He flew harrier jets for the marines and we exchanged some LHA stories from when I worked for LBNS (Long Beach Naval Ship Yard.) There was no service at the shelter --touch screens don't work when they are wet anyway and my fingers were not necessarily doing what I wanted them to do anyway. It was by far the most demanding day so far. Uncle Richard did get a text thru that America had won the Americas cup races. Seems like all the little aches and pains were all multiplied on this miserable day. We congratulated ourselves for keeping a dry set of cloths to change into and bemoaned the fact that we would have to put all this cold wet stuff back on in the morning. Jay lamented the fact that he had not brought an extra set of camp shoes. We planned tomorrow with 3 potential places to hole up for the night if we began to flag at any point during the day. It could be a short day, but it's really hard to stop hiking before 2:00. A medium day or a full day that would put us in to a leanto around 6pm. The medium day would entail setting up tents in wet cloths on a wet ground-- just didn't seem restful. One thing Jay had that I didn't was a good topo map. I'm convinced I need the topo maps recommended by the ATC just so I can see where I am and what's around me.
Bryson City, NC, United States
Bryson City, NC, United States
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I'm sorry to hear that you are cold, wet, and miserable. . . maybe it won't last long. I think I've read that if you have a synthetic bag you can put your semi-wrung-out wet clothes in the bag with you to help them dry out with your body heat during the night. I wouldn't do it with a cotton t-shirt (surely you aren't hiking in cotton?), and you might wish to check on this before you try it - or try it with only one small item first. I haven't personally tried it, and cannot attest to it's effectiveness.
ReplyDeleteAre you meeting any SOBO thru hikers yet? They might know about this. Any trail magic happening anywhere? It's nice that you've found a hiking buddy. So proud of you doing so well!
Trailweaver