Day 54 Pushing Through Heat

Today challenged us with 75 degree heat, steep ascents, and 25 miles.


We woke up around 6:30 and Heather made us a breakfast of eggs, toast, and yogurt. It was very nice having a home cooked breakfast. She dropped us off at the trail around 8. All three of us are very grateful for the incredible generosity of the Aldridge family. 


The first few miles of the day were either flat or easy downhill. However we felt the temperature rising and we knew we had a hard climb ahead of us. The 800 mile mark was first landmark we passed. It’s crazy to think how much progress we are making and how quickly the miles are going. Another couple weeks and we will be at 1,000! 



We crossed a suspension bridge and hiked through some cool woods at lower elevation before beginning the big ascent. 





We stopped for lunch by a stream and splashed water on our heads around 11AM after hiking 9 miles. 



The climb up Bald Knob was 4 miles and we gained over 3,500 feet. That’s very steep. And in 75 degrees we were sweating profusely. Bald Knob is one of the last two 4,000 foot mountains we will climb until New Hampshire. Kind of crazy. The views from the top were very cool despite our exhausted state after the ascent.




We also hiked over Cole Mountain which had a really cool grassy peak. 




The rest of the day was a lot less difficult but the exertion of the previous climbs had me feeling pretty tired. I was very glad to make it to camp, get out of the black flies and off my feet.


Tomorrow we are supposed to have slightly cooler weather but the trail will be just as difficult. We will hike between 20 and 25 miles which will leave us with 15-20 easier miles into the town of Waynesboro. 


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==

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