9-5-12

AT miles hiked today: 13.6
Miles to Katahdin: 38.2
Total AT miles hiked: 1265.3
Miles to complete my thruhike: 919.1

I'm staying in the shelter at Wadleigh Stream Lean-to. My tent is wet and I hung it out but it didn't dry. My new nylon shorts from Lakeshore House worked pretty well, though I got a little chafing at the waistband. They did dry quickly and kept my thighs from chafing. They are size medium! My Danskin yoga pants have done really well for being a $5 clearance find, but the waistband doesn't dry very quickly. I have been hoping to find some other hiking pants/shorts and I wanted to try these out. Today, in the rain, seemed a good test. They will do for hiking sometimes, which is better than the shorts I traded them in for, which chafed me.

It rained last night and this morning. Toe Knee headed out at 6am, aiming for the shelter that is 3.5 miles north of here. She wanted to wait and cook breakfast there, under a roof and out of the rain. I got out around 7am, with no breakfast except a poptart which I ate by pouring the crumbs into my mouth while huddled under a rock overhang on the side of the trail. I couldn't wait any longer for something in my belly. Eagle Eye didn't want to pack up in the rain, so she went back to sleep.

We got pond water to drink, since the spring was dry. Then we got to the shelter and there was a nice stream right next to it. Eagle Eye made it to the shelter just before dark and we ate dinner in the dark.

Miles is here at the shelter tonight. He showed up and got water at the pond while we did. He and I met on Max Patch, and he is the third fast hiker that I met in the south who hiked all the way and caught up to me even after I leapfrogged over the middle section. When he gets to Katahdin, he'll be done, but I'll still have more than a third of the trail to hike. I can't decide if that's depressing (only because I'm so slow) or exciting, but since I'm not ready to be done yet, it makes me happy.