All seemed well and I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss the turnoff for the shelter. I referred to my map often as I got closer. If I missed the turnoff for the shelter I would be dark before I ran into the next one. Night hiking isn’t the best idea, as hiking in daylight poses enough challenges. As I near the turnoff for the shelter I see the sign and I see a note left by the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club.
My heart sank as I read the note that the shelter was under renovations, but perked up when I saw a hand-written note that said the shelter was 90% complete and livable. Here’s a picture of the shelter and you be the judge.
A fellow hiker staying at the shelter came out the approach trail to greet me and reassure me that the shelter was Ok to stay at. There were already 3 other people there for the night when I got there and I’m sure they weren’t thrilled to see me. They had most of their gear spread out all over the shelter drying. So after some maneuvering I had a spot to put my sleeping bag in the middle of the shelter. Some of the boards were quite saggy and wouldn’t support my weight. Don’t ask me how I know this.
By the time I cooked my dinner of Lipton’s cheddar broccoli rice, it was getting dark. The 2 college aged thru hikers went to bed around 7:30. We chatted before they turned in while I was cooking. They said that there were 2 dozen thru hikers ahead of them on the trail according to the thru hikers sign in register at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC).
The other hiker, the one who came out to meet me, was Jim from Baltimore. Jim is 60 years old and a retired Marine. For the last 7 years has been spending around 8 months on the trail. So basically you can say that Jim ‘lives’ on the trail. Jim figures that he’s racked up around 5,000 miles of hiking the trail, but I think that number would be conservative. 1 other thing I noticed about Jim is that for a slim person he sure seems to eat a lot. Jim spent 2 nights at the shelter waiting out the rain and having some of his things dry.
After cleaning up my dinner mess, it was time to turn in for the night. It was predicted to be somewhat cold at night. Jim has some sort of weather gadget that he can tune into weather reports while on the trail. I slept well for the most part. Someone kept getting up at night. I counted at least 5 different times that someone got up. I slept with foam ear plugs to drown out any snoring and other noises, but people use lights when they get up in the dark.
A tight squeeze
Creek
By the time I cooked my dinner of Lipton’s cheddar broccoli rice, it was getting dark. The 2 college aged thru hikers went to bed around 7:30. We chatted before they turned in while I was cooking. They said that there were 2 dozen thru hikers ahead of them on the trail according to the thru hikers sign in register at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC).
The other hiker, the one who came out to meet me, was Jim from Baltimore. Jim is 60 years old and a retired Marine. For the last 7 years has been spending around 8 months on the trail. So basically you can say that Jim ‘lives’ on the trail. Jim figures that he’s racked up around 5,000 miles of hiking the trail, but I think that number would be conservative. 1 other thing I noticed about Jim is that for a slim person he sure seems to eat a lot. Jim spent 2 nights at the shelter waiting out the rain and having some of his things dry.
After cleaning up my dinner mess, it was time to turn in for the night. It was predicted to be somewhat cold at night. Jim has some sort of weather gadget that he can tune into weather reports while on the trail. I slept well for the most part. Someone kept getting up at night. I counted at least 5 different times that someone got up. I slept with foam ear plugs to drown out any snoring and other noises, but people use lights when they get up in the dark.
A tight squeeze
Creek
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