Day 278

Day 278 (AT 82): 30 miles

After getting a ride back to trail I started the climb up from the road crossing, just how it usually goes. It was my first day of imperfect weather since hopping back on the AT. It still wasn’t raining (bless up) but it was cloudy and foggy all day. Most of the day was in the woods but there were a few summits and a 3 mile exposed section above treeline but I couldn’t see anything all day. PMA-it could’ve been worse. It could’ve been raining.

A little after the sun had set I started searching my pack for my headlamp. After not being able to find it, I remembered that I knocked it behind a bench this morning and went to go do something else before picking it up. Well, I didn’t pick it up. Coming to this realization, I wasn’t happy. I spent the next few hours using my phone flashlight, either trying to hold it and be comfortable with one immobile hand or wedging it in my shoulder strap pocket which pointed most of the light to the left and up of where I was going. It wasn’t great. With about 12 hours of daylight and me trying to hike 16-17 hours a day, it’s not a great time to lose it. That might be the most painful cheap piece of gear to lose.

Within a half hour of hiking after dark I couldn’t really see where I was going and got off trail. On my way to reconnect with it, I was waking on a bit of a ledge. I kinda half saw there was a pine branch I was about to step on, assuming it was on solid ground. It turned out to just be hanging over the edge so I stepped on thin air and fell off the ledge about 6 feet below. On the way down I heard a snap but knew it wasn’t me cause I landed painlessly on my pack. I knew it was my other trekking pole. And this one I didn’t break the bottom section where it’s still kinda usable if you’re hunched over. This one snapped in the middle so it’s completely useless. After 9 days back on the AT I’m down to half a trekking pole from the first one I broke.

Song of the day: killing in the name- rage against the machine