Day 31 – Sounds Like Somebody’s Got a Case of the Mondays

Well we lived to see another day. No bears or other wildlife were seen or heard from overnight. Although not the most pleasant of days. I was exhausted for a majority of it. That was likely due to the lack of ability to ingest any substantial amounts of food or water all morning. I felt sick to my stomach still and felt like I was in fog most of the day.

I buried my previous nights dinner before we left and the hiking started shortly after 9AM. The terrain for the first mile was basically straight uphill. Everything was slow going. I was dehydrated, and weak. I eventually was able to get enough water down via sips every 20-30 minutes to start feeling like I wasn’t going to pass out. Some fruit snacks were also beneficial to my overall state.

I had hiked the early morning solo and eventually caught the rest of my tramily on a break at the top of Howard’s Rock. The trail followed the rocky crest of the mountain for a few miles before transitioning to a mellow downhill. I ran into Soda who tweaked his knee going down the rocks. We hiked together for a few miles to Jerry’s Cabin Shelter where the intended lunch break for the day was located.

When we arrived the consensus had been made that we would not go the remaining 6.7 miles to the next shelter. Most of us were exhausted or dealing with an ache or pain. At this point, I felt well enough that I could push on but I was out numbered. We were already laying out our sleeping pads in the shelter at 2:30PM and before we knew it, we were all asleep for the next couple hours.

We woke up again around 5PM and proceeded to have dinner. I was able to stomach some saltine crackers, broth and beef jerky. That was a huge upgrade from earlier. I’m optimistic I’ll be at or close to 100% by tomorrow. In other good news we passed the 300 mile marker today, making us 13.7397% done with the trail. We are trying to arrange a ride for the 5 of us to trail days with local shuttles but I’m expecting many of them to be booked already. If anyone reading this knows a good samaritan willing to assist/barter/or charge a reasonable fee we would be extremely grateful.

Tomorrow looks flexible distance-wise. Our early stop today likely means we won’t make it to Erwin by Thursday as was originally planned. Rain is also in the forecast so that should be fun. At least the weather isn’t expected to be too cold (silver linings).

Until then, stow away in my pack for day 32 on the Appalachian Trail.

 

 

Lindsay

Happy Belated Moms Day. Thanks for being the best (and only) sister a guy would ask for (not that the decision was mine). I know we haven’t always seen eye to eye but I’m happy with the relationship we now have. You’re a great mom and I look forward to visiting after the trail and seeing you all.