Day 7

Day 7 (BMT): 25 miles

Well, sleeping in the bathroom was a total failure. It didn’t rain during the night, and it turned out to be infested with mice. They didn’t come out until after I went to bed but then woke me up at least every half hour running around. I was worried they would eat my fancy new quilt like they did with my sleeping bag last year, but fortunately nothing bad happened, other than some subpar sleep.

I bushwhacked a little before getting back on trail and hiking 10 miles to Pheasant Fields Picnic Area. There was another bathroom there and it was supposed to start raining in the afternoon so I thought about ending the day early and hiding out in there to avoid the rain. But after stopping to take a break and cook a meal there, decided to not be soft and keep going.

I’m glad I did. The rain kept getting pushed back further and I had a good day of hiking and still ended early around 6 before it started really coming down. I kept pushing my luck. It was drizzling most of the afternoon, and I’d pass on a campsite and tell myself I could do a few more miles before the real rain started. I did this 3-4 times before I felt like it was starting to pick up and I was really pushing my luck. Ended at an okay campsite but looked like the next camping opportunity was not for a bit.

In the afternoon, I had a couple fords. I should’ve had more but took some risky rock hops across few. I was crossing one on a log when it suddenly collapsed below my feet. My feet went into a black muddy hole of water up to my shins and as I fell my but slammed down on a wet rock. It happened so fast, but with risks comes reward but also mishaps sometimes.

Shortly after I set up my tent and was chilling inside, a truck drove by on the dirt road and stopped to say hi through the tent. He was amazed at what I was doing and asked if I needed anything. He even said he’d be back in the morning if I wanted him to bring anything. Real southern hospitality

I also had a lovely conversation with a few people doing a multi day trip. And I met my first other BMT thru hiker. It was a great day of human interactions, of which there usually aren’t many