July 19th Bear report: there was another bear sighting . . . luckily it was only one little bear who didn’t mind sharing its space with the guys!
Yesterday was about reaching the goal and they did just that by 6:00 p.m. when they reached the shelter! All 18.6 miles were completed! The heat and the trail made it a hard hiking day. Usually the trail is covered by trees. The natural flora and fauna create a canopy that covers the trail. Even on the days when the sun it bright the trail stays shady. Yesterday was a bit different . . . there were quite a few open areas where the sun beat directly down on the trail. The open trail made the hiking much harder. Both Dale and Ben said they were whipped by the time they reached the shelter. In fact, they had to lie down and rest for a while before they started their evening routine.
The Jim and Molly Denton shelter sleeps eight with an enlarged porch for extra sleepers. Only two other hikers shared this humble abode with the Dale and Ben so there was plenty of room to move around. The Appalachian Trail Thru-Hiker’s Companion stated that the shelter had a solar shower . . . however; Mother Nature provided an all natural shower in the form of a rain storm that lasted all night long. Could this be the beginning of another year of ‘just add water’ hiking?
Today the temperatures are cooler, but the humidity is higher. They were grateful that they only had to hike 9.9 miles today. Hmmmmm . . . isn’t it funny how priorities change . . . hiking 9.9. miles in high humidity usually isn’t something that most people would feel grateful for!
9.9 miles today – 122.5 miles completed
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