AT Summer '16: Trimpi Shelter to Old Orchard Shelter (Day 2)

Appalachian Trail, 14.1 miles

OMG, I am so glad this day is done. The climbs were really rough. This day felt more like 40 than 14 miles. Thanks to my annoying bone spurs on both feet, I blistered both heels.

Joe and Matt were both powerhouses today. Joe is in great shape due to his distance and cross-country conditioning, despite taking a couple weeks off before summer training starts. And Matt kept up with him impressively all day today, but his feet are starting to blister pretty bad. That kid has such a high pain tolerance though! He barely seems bothered by it!

The rest of us spread out quite a bit today to hike at our own pace, knowing that it would be a long hard slog to get to Old Orchard Shelter. Which is all fine, except I tend to fret when not everyone is in my line of sight. Especially Jay. He is flagging pretty hard and is having some hip pain. We broke out the Advil today, and not a moment too soon.

In the wildlife department, Jay saw two bears today! He was the first to get on the trail this morning because he wanted an early start, knowing that it would be a super long day. He first saw a smaller juvenile bear off in the woods, and not long after, a large (mama?) bear on the trail. Both skittered off pretty quickly before he could get a picture. The rest of us are jealous!

Tim is his usual steady self, sometimes hiking with the boys, sometimes with Jay or I, and sometimes bringing up the rear. He stays constantly cheerful, powered by his morning brew.

Our site tonight is like a little tent village. I can't believe how many people are here! I counted like a dozen tents and hammocks near us, and there is another whole area on the other side of the shelter with at least that many. I don't know where all these people came from! It feels kind of weird to be this deep in wilderness yet have a lot of voices and humanity about. We are all tenting tonight, since the shelter was full to overflowing long before we got here.

Also, mercifully, there is a privy here!! It is such a delight to actually SIT DOWN to go potty after such a wicked long day. Amazing how much you can appreciate something as primitive as a pit toilet.

Speaking of comforts, I made a huge mistake by thinking I could forego a sleeping pad and use my Crazy Creek Hex chair as a stand-in. While the thing does unbuckle into a flat pad-like surface and weighs less than a pound, it is decidedly not soft enough for this old lady. I am totally coveting the Thermarest ProLite that Jay is using. I'm thinking of buying a hammock for my next hike, which would satisfy my ultralight tendencies and prevent me from bruising my hipbones while trying to sleep on my side.

Tomorrow we hike to Thomas Knob and hopefully we'll get to see ... PONIES! We'll be passing through Grayson Highlands, which is where they usually hang out. There is a chance of rain all day, we are told. Hopefully it holds off till we get to the shelter.