Song of Songs
Boots Off hostel to Iron Mountain shelter tent site - 16.1 miles hiked today - 444.5 total AT miles hiked.
The day started extremely early, with the first bunk mates deciding to start gathering their gear around 5 am to get an extra early start on the day. That was after the bunkhouse settling down sometime around 11 last night. Needless to say (but I’m saying it anyway), I didn’t get a lot of sleep.
We were slow to get moving, eating breakfast in the common room, and finally packing up and moving out around 8. Rick’s foot was no better, but no worse, so we decided on a conservative goal of 9 miles to the first shelter we passed.
The trail took us on a looping track around Lake Wataugu, that included crossing our second dam on the trail. The morning was perfect, with clear skies and lovely views of the lake from several vantage points. As we progressed, we started climbing back up onto the ridge line, but still following the lake for several miles. The terrain was not too difficult, and we made good time, arriving at the 9 mile point around 1, where we had lunch.
From there, we decided to push on to a designated campsite 4 more miles down the trail. By then it had started clouding up, with some rain likely on the way. Donning rain gear and pack covers, we pressed on to the planned site. The terrain was still moderate all afternoon (or maybe I’m finally developing my “hiker legs”). Arriving there, several others had beat us to the site, making it pretty crowded. The water source there was iffy as well, and we knew we’d need plenty of water, so we decided to push on yet again.
Finally, around 5pm, we came to the Iron Mountain shelter, where about 6 or 7 guys were already settled in. Plenty of tent sites available, and a good water source was nearby, so we planted roots for the night.
After set up and dinner, I retired to my tent to blow up my new pool float. I’m laying on it as I write this, and I have to tell you, let’s not half bad. If it didn’t weigh almost 4 pounds, have zero insulation value, and take 10 minutes to blow up, I’d consider keeping it. But no, it goes into a hiker box when I get a real pad.
Side note - if I hadn’t mentioned hiker boxes before, every hostel and outfitter has a hiker box where thru hikers discard things they no longer want or need. This can be equipment, food, clothing, etc. Then anyone can pull stuff that they might have a need for. Some hikers resupply their food regularly from these boxes as people discard food they tire of (lots of Ramen noodles in these boxes). I have pulled some minor gear (tape, wet wipes, etc), but no food (as yet).
Tomorrow we’ll likely push another high mileage day in hopes of reaching Damascus on Saturday.
Until next time...
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