(2/24) Rain and Rest
There was a moderate amount of rain last night and it was about 40 degree. Neither of which should have been an issue. However the fabric of my tent apparently stretches significantly when wet, meaning that I woke up around midnight with my tent basically on top of me, and once again my sleeping bag was soaked. I will be buying a new tent at the next opportunity.
Apart from my poor night sleep because of my tent failure, today was incredible. We started moving around 6:30 and we’re yet to decide if we would do a 12 mile day to Woods Hole shelter or push over Blood Mt, the highest point of the Georgia AT section to make it to Neel Gap. We hiked hard in the morning as the rain wasn’t too much just yet. We stopped for breakfast and water early, then for lunch at Woody Gap after crossing several ridges. After Woody Gap we hiked up to Preachers Rock, a well known overlook with generally excellent views. At this point we were in the clouds but it was very cool to hit that landmark.
As we hiked on from Preachers Rock the rain started to pick up. However, hiking in the rain was not that bad. The temperature was low enough that we were not over heating in the rain gear and we were able to hike rather quickly. Around 1:45 we reached Woods Hole shelter and stopped for food. At this point we had decided to push over Blood Mt as we had already hiked around 12 miles and it was just 4 more to Neel Gap.
At Wood Hole we encountered 4 other through hikers, some we had seen before and some new ones. We ate a snack and got water then hit the trail again. The hike up Blood Mt was not bad despite mud from the rain. We summitted at 3 pm and decided we would pay the 20 dollars to stay in a hostel in Neel Gap that night. The hike down was much more challenging as the rocks were slippery and the trail was steep.
It was a long day and the views weren’t great because of the clouds but the challenge was enjoyable and we made more progress (despite the conditions) than we had any other day so far. We will stay in warm beds tonight, be able to shower and dry our gear. I will buy a new tent at Neel Gap in the morning and we will keep pushing north.
Goodnight.
Walker
Check out Tyler’s blog too- https://tylerat2020.blogspot.com/?m=1
Apart from my poor night sleep because of my tent failure, today was incredible. We started moving around 6:30 and we’re yet to decide if we would do a 12 mile day to Woods Hole shelter or push over Blood Mt, the highest point of the Georgia AT section to make it to Neel Gap. We hiked hard in the morning as the rain wasn’t too much just yet. We stopped for breakfast and water early, then for lunch at Woody Gap after crossing several ridges. After Woody Gap we hiked up to Preachers Rock, a well known overlook with generally excellent views. At this point we were in the clouds but it was very cool to hit that landmark.
As we hiked on from Preachers Rock the rain started to pick up. However, hiking in the rain was not that bad. The temperature was low enough that we were not over heating in the rain gear and we were able to hike rather quickly. Around 1:45 we reached Woods Hole shelter and stopped for food. At this point we had decided to push over Blood Mt as we had already hiked around 12 miles and it was just 4 more to Neel Gap.
At Wood Hole we encountered 4 other through hikers, some we had seen before and some new ones. We ate a snack and got water then hit the trail again. The hike up Blood Mt was not bad despite mud from the rain. We summitted at 3 pm and decided we would pay the 20 dollars to stay in a hostel in Neel Gap that night. The hike down was much more challenging as the rocks were slippery and the trail was steep.
It was a long day and the views weren’t great because of the clouds but the challenge was enjoyable and we made more progress (despite the conditions) than we had any other day so far. We will stay in warm beds tonight, be able to shower and dry our gear. I will buy a new tent at Neel Gap in the morning and we will keep pushing north.
Goodnight.
Walker
Check out Tyler’s blog too- https://tylerat2020.blogspot.com/?m=1
Thanks for this interesting update!!!
ReplyDeleteNo problem. I’m glad to share and have something to look back at in the future!
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