Day 47: October Mountain Shelter

Start: Shaker Campsite (AT mi 1541.6). Stop: October Mountain Shelter (AT mi 1560.4). Today’s miles: 18.8 miles. Total AT mileage: 535.7 miles

Y’all! I slept! It may not have been the best sleep, but I did in fact.. SLEEP! I was so happy that when I heard birds chirping at 6am, I just went ahead and got up. I also had to pee, so there’s that.

I packed up and ate my breakfast with the intent to get out “well ahead” of my fast as hell hiking tramily. So, later when I finally roll into camp, it’ll only be like 30 minutes after everyone, not 3 hours. Even still, Towely beat me out. I caught up to him at a road crossing.. this farmhouse had an “AT Stand” with a picnic table out front. You could buy sodas, popsicles, candy, etc.. so I only caught him bc he was taking a break lol

I got a Mountain Dew and then a Dr Pepper. I filled my water bottle and before I got ready to leave, the rest of the group showed up for some goodies, too. I sat and chatted a bit, then decided to hike on, although I knew my attempts at having a semi ok lead on the rest was useless. I decided to hike in my sportsbra, because it was just so dang hot today. I put my bandana over my hip belt strap so it wouldn’t cut into my skin, and it seemed to work out well enough.

I passed through farmland with cows and pastures with gorgeous views. The trail winded through some pine forests and went up and over a few small peaks. Don’t get me wrong, they still had me gasping for air, but it did seem to go better than previous days, even with the heat.
What isn’t doing better is my dang heat rash. It’s enough to make you want to quit hiking and lay up in a hotel until every bump disappears. It’s so unbelievably uncomfortable. The sweat alone had my shorts dripping wet, literally only making things worse.

Sometime before 1pm, I was passing Upper Goose Pond, and looking for somewhere to get in. I saw a little path down to the water, and Lizard was already there! She just finished swimming, but stayed to dry out and eat her lunch.. so I swam and then did the same. By swim, I mean I just submerged myself and sat in the water for a little while. We had a lot of miles to crank out today, and as much as I wanted to stay in that water all day, there simply wasn’t enough time.

After lunch, I decided to hike in just my sports bra and undies. My stupid rash would have only been that much worse if I put those sweat filled shorts back on. It was a little awkward at first, but I quickly quit caring. My body is wrecked and I can’t have it getting worse!

I made it to camp around 6:15. I found an ok enough spot for my tent, although one side is against a log, so it might get weird when it rains later. Hopefully not. Killer let me have some hydrocortisone cream for my rash, and I could kick myself for getting rid of the cream I threw out in Kent because everything was looking better. Hindsight is definitely 20/20.

I got water, bathed, ate dinner and now I’m in bed with my body all creamed up. It’s a big group camping tonight.. some folks in the shelter I don’t know and a man in a hammock very close to Lizard’s that I can literally hear snoring right now (the sun is still out and it’s 8:03pm.. I’m fast behind ya buddy!).

I’m praying for more good sleep like last night 🙂 I feel like I rushed this post, but honestly, after almost 19 miles of hiking, I’m slap worn out. Goodnight, y’all.