Day 1

Dad and I at the first white blaze.

Day 1:
Longest "5" mile hike ever. Turns out, it was 6.9. Dad thought it was 5.9, so I let him run w/ it. Rains on Day 1. That's how we know it's real. Shouldn't have started at 5pm, got into the shelter well past sunset. Cold night, but lafuma + my liner took care of me. Fellow hikers are good but coffee to warm me up is AWESOME. 9.1 to brown fork Day 2.

*Day 1 happened to be our shortest hike and also my shortest journal entry. I had misjudged our put in time and trail difficulty, landing us at our first shelter well past hiker midnight. Respecting elevation changes and trail difficulty was just one of many lessons I'd learn during the first few days on the trail. It happens that Dad learned how to sneak into the sack next to a grown man stealthily enough to scare him by magically appearing in the morning.


Sassafras Gap Shelter, Day 2 AM