Sunday night, after my last entry, I tried some night hiking. It started off great: I was full of energy, the temp was just right and the sunset made walking very peaceful. That worked for about two hrs, but then the sun set and it got pretty dark.
Around 9 or so, it got too dark to see the trail well, so I had to pull out my headlamp. The headlamp was sufficient for hiking (avoiding roots, rocks, etc), but one issue that I had not anticipated was the spooky factor. I've been sleeping in the woods now for more than three weeks - so you'd think that I've gotten used to being in the forest after dark. But sleeping out here and walking along at night are very different things. My heart was racing the entire time. I wasn't afraid of anything realistic - bloody-thirsty boars, clandestine moonshine operations, etc. Instead, it was pretty ridiculous stuff - ghosts, werewolves, etc. It was like I was 7 all over again.
I got in to camp around 11 that night, set-up my hammock quickly and then slept until 11 the next morning. The more I walk, the more I sleep. Througout the next day, it drizzled - making me cold and wet. I got to the shelter around five or so and found it to be almost full. Some people moved around to make space, but there weren't really any good places to hang my stuff to dry out.
It got really cold that night, and what made it worse was that my sleeping bag was pretty damp. I've heard of a trick for drying out wet socks by sticking them in the bottom of your sleeping bag. I tried it out, but it didn't seem to work.
The next day was even worse. I can handle one wet day as long as the next day gives me an opporitunity to dry my stuff out - so back-to-back cold-rain days makes things pretty difficult. At one point during the second day, it was hailing for a few minutes. By the time I saw the next shelter (which was supposed to be my lunch spot for the day), I decided to call it a day right there and making it a low mileage day. I brought four days (three nights) worth of food to get me from Hot Springs to Eerwin and stopping there would add an extra day to the trip - I would have to ration my food until Erwin.
After eating lunch, I set-up my hammock and climbed in. I would spend about 16 hrs in there. Wen it's really cold out, hikers live in their sleeping bags and only leave to cook their dinners or go to the bathroom.
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| From AT 2010 |
Wednesday was a great day. After two days of cold rain, any amt of sunshine can change things for the better. Once again, I slept-in way too late (11AM). I got to big bald around 4, headed off to the next shelter and made my dinner. I had gone about 10 miles so far and was feeling pretty good, so I decided to keep hiking until I got tired. I was moving pretty fast b/c there was a lot of downhill and I got to the next shelter just before it got dark. I actually went further after dinner than I did before dinner.
Days like these really test your resolve. What's been keeping me going the past few days is the knowledge that I will be in Erwin tomorrow - where I will be able to pig-out on food, get a warm shower and finally get the stink out of these clothes. Tomorrow will be a great day.
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