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Day 2 Dinner at Blue Mountain Resort
At my campsite on the mountain south of Windgap it sprinkled and sleeted off and on through the night. My bear canister was covered with frozen water droplets when I got up at 7:00.
I had my breakfast of oatmeal and coffee, then packed up my wet tent. Fortunately the ground cloth was only damp and the inner tent was dry. I packed them in a waterproof bag and put it inside the compactor garbage bag I use to line my pack. I packed the outer tent in the original tent bag, which has wear holes and was never waterproof. This bag I placed inside my pack but outside the pack-liner. This worked out so well that I’m planning to pack the tent into 2 bags from now on.
I started my trek south at 8:20. I was soon greeted by a beautiful view as I crossed a gas pipeline.
And just before the Leroy Smith shelter another spectacular view from a power line crossing!
About 13 miles from my starting point for the day the trail came within 100 yards of the bunny slope at Blue Mountain Resort. Although the slopes are closed, the Slopeside Bar and Grill is open. I cut through the woods, crossed the top of the slope and walked down to the main building for dinner. It was delicious! A big salad, cheeseburger, fries, and a Guinness. I took my time eating while I charged my stuff and headed back to the trail around 5:00 PM.
I hiked about 2 miles down a very steep descent then up a spectacular climb to my campsite for the evening. Kudos to the trail workers for the wonderful rock work traversing the rocks to the top, very impressive. There is a giant pile of rocks at the top next to another great view.
I set up camp on a nice bed of pine needles at a campsite not far south of this view. Once again it was a cold night with the wind howling and intermittent light sleet, but I was cozy and my tent was fine.
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Comments 1
Kudos to your wife! Hope you feel better soon. My husband and I hike together and we live in Georgia, so we’ve hiked about 3/4 of Georgia, in and out, because we don’t camp out on the trail. We’ve also done little bits and pieces in NC, TN and Virginia (and last year we completed our first state, West Virginia!) and completed the 14 State Challenge (a little bit in all 14 states that the AT goes through). What you’re doing is terrific, and your wife supporting you is wonderful! Wish we could do the whole thing, but the next best thing is to read about it as somebody else is doing it. So glad you’re posting daily. I know that’s hard. We’ll be 70 in August.