Miles: 1700.0 | A cold, rain-soaked day cut short by exhaustion and flooding fears, ending with a necessary retreat into Miles’ tent as condensation soaked my gear and reminded me how fragile morale — and dryness — can be on trail.
We awoke to POURING rain. Neither of us had much motivation. We were still heavy with resupply, the terrain was so muddy it covered your ankles. I had to stop often to remove mud chunks from my socks to avoid blisters.
We walked through the dreary day to the next shelter. We stopped there and had a snack break. I got water. I called my cousin, who lived in South Pomfret, VT, near where the AT crosses. She said she could pick us up anywhere we wanted! We agreed to meet her in Woodstock two days from our phone call. After an hour sitting in the shelter with two Long Trail hikers, we decided to just set up here. My feet felt like bricks and I didn't feel like dealing with this rain.
We set up side by side on the only tent spot available and prayed we wouldn't flood on this very floodable spot. Later, as evening fell, I woke up to so much condensation dripping from my tent wall that my sleeping bag was damp. I wasn't warm. Everything I owned was wet. I packed as much of it as I could back into my pack and convinced Miles to let me share his tent with him. I left my pack in my vestibule and left my tent up.
In Miles' tent there was definitely condensation as well, but not nearly as much as in mine. Bright side, his floor was still dry! He also had cuben fiber so we could wipe it down during the rain storm and remove some of the condensation with a camp towel. A single wall sil-nylon tent will just sag if you wipe it in the rain and gather even more condensation. Thankfully, I escaped the rain inside and outside of my tent that night. Thank god for Miles.