Appalachian Trail: Day 17
Disclaimer: This post is NOT sponsored. All the gear mentioned in this post was purchased by me at retail prices. I have no affiliations with any of the companies or brands mentioned.
Camp last night sucked. By the time I got to the shelter, all the decent spots where taken and there were no good spots left. I ended up sleeping on a bit of an incline and my pad and I kept sliding down all night. Then with the rain and the wind, it was cold and wet. I had put my pack below my pad at the bottom to try to stop the sliding, but that means it was pressed against the tent fabric and was damp in the morning.
Got a late start due to the cold and the wind. The pain in my shin that started yesterday didn't fully go away last night, so I am just hiking through it today. I will be taking a zero when I get to NOC tomorrow.
A couple big climbs today, but the view from the Wesser Bald Fire Tower was definitely worth it. Caught up with Mixer a couple times when they were stopped taking a break. And Phantom and River caught up to me at the fire tower.
Made it into the Wesser Bald Shelter at a reasonable time and was able to grab a spot in the shelter itself so I won't have to deal with the uneven ground issue again tonight. Forgot to mix in the milk powder properly before putting the pot on the stove and burnt the powder in the bottom of the pot, but dinner still turned out pretty good. This shelter has a broken bear cable system, so everyone is just using the cable as a place to do a PCT bear hang. Save us from having to find a good tree.
It's also going to be another cold night. Hopefully all of these bodies in the shelter will add some warmth.