23rd May
22.7 miles
Pearsburg (734.3) to (Bushcamp (657)
I stayed in a dorm room last night. Sharing with about 10 other people, some of which have all their gear stored in very loud, very crinkly plastic bags. People opening all these bags at all hours of the night left me rather tired by morning. Both Delicate Flower and I were ready to get out of town.
With limited choice of breakfast grub we found ourselves at Dairy Queen. Several coffees and a 1100 calorie Blizzard Milkshake later we hit the trail. The weather forecast was predicting rain for the next week, for now it was just overcast. Last night at the hostel there was a lot of discussion about the weather. It appears this has been a rather wet hiking season, well above average. Some hikers have had enough of the rain and seem ready to quit. I guess everyone has a point when enough is enough. There’s still plenty of hiking left for me.
The first couple of miles of hiking skirted an industrial factory and a stream with a sign that said, ‘Do not drink the water, not potable’. Not sure if the industry has anything to do with the contaminated stream. It could have been run off from farmland, I have no idea. It was a cool, overcast day. I wasn’t thirsty. The countless coffees earlier had me watering the bushes very often without needing to take on any other fluids.
By 2pm it started to drizzle. Not long after the rain settled in. On a lonely ridge I had cell phone service. It was predicted to rain the rest of the day and all the next day. Not much I could do but keep hiking. My umbrella served me well. I was able to hike for 4 hours in the rain and stay dry. Only my shoes and socks were wet. I’m real impressed by the umbrella, I just have to be a bit careful around tree branches, specially Rhododendrons.
I spent most of the day hiking alone, Delicate Flower was up ahead. I had lots of time to let my mind wander. Most people never experience time alone to let their mind wander and just think about things. It’s one of the pleasures of long distance hiking. When I’m sick of my own thoughts I listen to music, podcasts or audiobooks. Things are quite simple for me at the moment.
By late afternoon I caught up to my hiking buddy in the rain. I announced that I wanted to camp at the next available site, he wanted to hike onwards to the next shelter to try and dry out. I camped near Stoney Creek next to a bridge. The rain really started to get heavy after I set the tent up. I like falling asleep to the sound of rain in the walls of the tent. Good night.
Next : Day 39 – Still It Rains
Tough shoes my friend… !
Yes they are
Are you still using the same nemo hornet 1p from the CDT? Would you still chose the 1p over the 2p ?Thanks.
Same Nemo Hornet 1P as the CDT, I also used it cycling through Mexico, over 300 nights of use. The 1P is great and highly recommended but I think the 2P gives me more room while cycle touring.
Just now noticed you don’t have gaiters of any kind. Did you ever on other trails?
No gaiters. I used a cheap useless pair in the snow sections of Colorado on the CDT. Some of the cheap gaiters like those from Dirty Girl Gaiters cone highly recommended from other hikers but I haven’t used them.