Day 7 20 Miles

 Writing from the upstairs of a shelter, finally warm and dry in my sleeping bag.

I slept incredibly well last night. I fell asleep before 10PM and woke up just before 8AM. I haven’t slept that well in a while, even in a real bed. 

We all slept in and got on trail around 9. Since we expected high winds and rain all day with a cold night to follow, we wanted to camp at lower elevation. This meant we either had to go 15.5 miles or 20.5 miles. In between the two campsites is Mt Albert, the 100 mile marker for the AT. 

We set out and began ascending our biggest mountain yet, Standing Indian. This mountain is over 5,400 feet, but has a pretty gradual ascent. It was a good warmup for the day, even if it was mostly foggy on top.

Most of the rest of the day we got poured on. So we put our heads down and kept moving. It was cold and wet enough that I wore my poncho most of the day to keep my core dry and warm. I don’t really mind hiking in the rain, but I always feel like I’m missing a lot, because I can’t see all of the mountains around me. It is cool to see the mountains in all of their conditions, and there’s a distinct beauty to the power of the mountains in bad weather. It’s like the ocean crashing against rocks, or white water rapids in a large river. The power of nature is always humbling.

After Standing Indian we had mostly smooth trails and covered 15.5 miles before 3PM. Since it was still early we decided to push past the campsite and aim for our first 20 mile day of the trip. But before getting to camp we had to go up and over Mt Albert. Most of the ascent was very smooth but the last quarter mile was nearly vertical. After much effort we made it to the top. There weren’t many views to speak of but we took a minute at the bottom of the fire tower at the top of the mountain.

Covering 20 miles today put us past the 100 mile mark. Pretty cool to be over 100 miles into the hike. Most of the hundred mile markers have stone or stick arrangements to signify the milestone. 

The last couple miles were a pretty smooth descent into Long Branch Shelter, where we were surprised to find only one other person staying. Because of the bad weather we decided to stay in the shelter tonight. For those who don’t know, the AT has 3 walled shelters about every 10 miles for the whole length of the trail. These shelters range from a simple roof over a small wooden floor all the way to multiple story buildings with tin roofs and fire places. We usually prefer staying in tents because they are a little warmer and the shelters tend to get crowded. However, since we were all wet and tired after walking 20 miles in the wind and rain we decided it would be easier to stay in the shelter than set up our tents. I had a pretty good view from my sleeping bag in the upstairs of the shelter. 

Tonight is supposed to be in the low 20’s and windy. Cold nights after wet days are dangerous because if your gear isn’t it won’t keep you warm. Luckily our gear held and we are all mostly dry. We shouldn’t have any problem staying warm tonight. 

Tomorrow we are going to try and take advantage of some better weather. It’s supposed to be in the upper 40s and clear skies. We plan to do anywhere from 19 to 22 miles, which should set us up to get into the NOC before some bad weather on Friday. The NOC is the next town we pass through (short for the Nantahala Outdoor Center). 

I’m pretty tired after our 20 miles today so I’m going to head to sleep. 

Goodnight 

Walker 

If you want to follow Tyler or Spencer, here are their logs as well:

Tyler: https://tylerat2024.blogspot.com/?m=1

Spencer: https://www.instagram.com/baxter.bound?utm_source=qr&igsh=MWx4MzRqa3M4dGk3Mw==