Not surprisingly, last night was a cluster. We had 16 people in a 12 person shelter with a roof that reportedly leaked. When it started raining overnight the 6 people in the middle got absolutely soaked. Some of them moved to the floor and other took over the benches to try and get out of the rain zone. I was up against the wall and relatively safe from the rain so I didn’t sleep too badly. I did feel a few mice running around on top of the sleeping bag at various points throughout the night though.
It just kept on raining through the morning. The trail had dissolved into mud and it made for very slow going. There was an option to go 13 miles today and be closer to town tomorrow but when we got to the shelter at 7 miles the sun was shining and most everyone (including me) decided to give up for the day and hang out out clothes to dry.
Nikki, one of the section hikers got a big surprise today. Her boyfriend, Andy, showed up from Wisconsin and met her on the trail just north of Silars Bald. He hadn’t come out just to hike, he was there to propose. She was delighted and said yes. Not sure how long he’ll stay on the trail with her but it was a sweet moment.
We’re set up in another shelter tonight and all the trail reports claim that this one doesn’t leak. However, Rick the ridge runner dropped by and said there’s 7 section hikers in the area and section hikers get priority for spots in the shelters. I don’t know why they pul priority but it’s not worthwhile to argue with the ridge runners.
There’s a much lower chance of rain tomorrow. I should be summiting the highest peak on the AT, Clingmans Dome, if it really isn’t raining maybe there will even be some views.
Day 22 Mileage: 7.4 mi [Derrick Knob Shelter -> Double Gap Shelter]
Total Mileage: 205.3 mi
Paul, what are “section hikers”?
Anyone who is hiking only a section of the AT instead of the whole ~2,200 miles