Rain is the worst part of tenting. I was hoping the 40% chance of "scattered thunderstorms" would pass us by, but alas, they did not. Around midnight or 1 am, a thunderstorm with long, rolling thunder passed by, and in the morning, it just rained.
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One of the downsides to shelters is the the noise other people make. While other people snoring hasn't been too much of a problem for me so far, I was constantly awoken by the air mattress of the hiker sleeping next to me. His mattress made noise every time he moved, and he moved a lot. At one point, I couldn't tell if the noise was rain, or his mattress, it was so loud. As a result, I started off the day later (8 am) and with less sleep than I had intended. Not really what I needed on a day I'm attempting 24 miles.
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This morning, and in better spirits, Beast suggested a new theory for his apparently broken toe: he had just put in new (and very thick) insoles in Marion, but forgot to trim them this time before he put them into his shoes. The extra thickness reduced travel space in his shoe, and in conjunction with the other issues besetting his foot (previous break, blister/bruise, heavy pack) contributed to the break. (It sounds reasonable to me, but I'm no podiatrist.)
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We woke up late today, and had a great breakfast at The Barn, though this meant we didn't actually get on the trail until after 11 a.m.
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After 49 days, three states, and countless hills, I have hiked one quarter of the Appalachian Trail. 547.2 miles down, 1,641.9 miles to go!
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