2017 Appalachian Hike

Great day today. It was very cold when I left this morning at 6:40. Probably low to mid 30’s. It was my first time wearing my gloves for a long time. 

The temperature stayed cool all day. Probably never over 50. Perfect hiking weather. The sun came out off and on. 

The trail in Shenandoah National Park is easy compared to the rest of the trail. 

I stopped for lunch at the store in a campgrounds. I ate a microwave cheeseburger, it was delicious, a bag of BBQ chips, a coke, some Oreos, milk and a pint of Haagen Das ice cream. That’s living it up. 

I also charged my phone while I was there for two hours. When I got back on the trail I treated myself to some music since I had the full charge on my phone. That was just the thing to top an already great day off. 

I did 24 miles today. I’m in the shelter in my sleeping bag now. We are getting a frozen mix of precipitation at this moment. It’s in the 30’s as I’m writing this. 

Timber, Engineer and Maple Syrup are also here. The rest of the shelter is occupied by some section hikers we don’t know. 

I’m having such a great experience doing this. But what I miss is family and friends. I already missed our granddaughter Tenley’s birthday. This week I missed our daughter Sarah’s college graduation. I’m so proud of her for achieving this while raining three kids and working. She’s an amazing young woman. I hate missing this stuff. Then next week I’ll miss our daughter Megan’s birthday.

Tomorrow the other guys are talking about doing 28 miles. I’m not sure I have that in me. We’ll see