Miles: 112.9 | Back on trail after days of warmth and generosity, the fog feels heavier than the pack. A short hike, a crowded shelter, and a finicky tent leave me restless, soaked, and questioning my gear — and myself. Town may not have ruined me, but it definitely made the trail feel sharper.
We woke up to a foggy rainy day. But not as bad as the downpour yesterday. Donn made me a delicious breakfast beverage (smoothie) and I drank a bottle of Gatorade. We finished packing up our stuff and left the house around 8:30am. By 9:30am we had said our goodbyes and were back on the trail.
We hiked a short 4 miles to the first shelter. We had been aiming to go all the way to Wayah Gap Shelter but we had no motivation.
Michelin and I were both having a hard time physically and mentally. Town had spoiled us. The fog and rain were getting on our nerves. We got off onto the blue blaze for the first shelter around noon. There was no room in the shelter so I set up my tent (I know a rare occurrence, right?) and Michelin set up his hammock. We ate two dinners (those Harmony House vegetables made a nice accompaniment to my ramen) and then hung out in my tent for a while. Rain and snow were expected for the night.
I felt disappointed in myself for not doing more miles and for letting town soften me so much. I was also super annoyed because my rain fly on my tent would NOT reposition the way I wanted it to because of the hill I was on. The more I use my tent, the more frustrated I get about how small it is. I woke up every hour that night trying to make sure my sleeping bag didn’t touch the sides of my tent. I also had water dripping on me from above my head where my rain fly wouldn’t guy out properly. I decided to start looking into getting a different tent (more to come on this later...).