(2/23) Finding our Stride

     I slept well last night. It was in the low 20’s again but I managed to pitch my tent in such a way to avoid bumping into the sides at night. It was definitely a good learning experience. Woke up to a nice sunrise. Tyler and I hit the trail almost immediately after packing up and hike a little over a mile before stopping for breakfast next to a steam. We bumped into other through hikers we had already met and a couple new people too.

     After breakfast we really found our stride, hiking much more quickly and efficiently. I am still sore and adjusting to hiking every  day but it hasn’t slowed us down at all.

    We hiked over several ridge in quick succession after stopping for lunch. The excellent weather allowed us to have some great views as we hiked over Sassafras Mt. The terrain was rough today but we were still able to hike more quickly and get to camp around 3 in the afternoon.

     We are staying at Gooch shelter tonight along with about 50 other hikers. I would guess that at least half are attempting a through hike along with us. Most of the other through hikers we have seen so far are here tonight.

     Tomorrow looks like rain all day starting around 6 in the morning. We plan to start around then and hike as far as 16 miles to the nearest town, Neel Gap where we can stay the night in a hostel as it looks like thunder storms tomorrow night.

The hike has been a lot of fun so far, but it has also been physically challenging. Today we were able to find a good rhythm and get some good miles in. We are making progress and getting stronger.

Goodnight.

Walker

Check out Tyler’s blog too- https://tylerat2020.blogspot.com/?m=1