I left the shelter shortly before 7, hoping to make it 20.7 miles today to the East Branch Lean-to. The day, of course, got off to a rocky start, as the trail continued across the ridge of Chairback Mountain. Reaching the exposed summit, a strong breeze blew clouds between and over the next mountain to the (compass) north, and it was fairly clear I’d be going over that mountain shortly.
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After another fantastic breakfast, I finished packing my food and scheduled a food drop for Jo-Mary Road on Saturday at 2:30 pm, coinciding with two other people who have a food drop then as well. I still had to pay $80 up-front for the food drop, but should get a nice refund assuming they don’t change their delivery time between now and then.
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Shaw’s has an optional $9 all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast, which was a great way to start the day.
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I woke up this morning around 5:45, after a not awesome night’s sleep. The tentsite I picked was somewhat bumpy and uneven; it was the best available, though, so not really much I could do about that. The air was a bit chilly, requiring wearing my fleece this morning as I broke camp, but I quickly warmed up once I got everything packed up and started hiking, around 7:15. Naturally, there was a much nicer campsite a short distance across the stream. Oh well.
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I had set my alarm for 5:45, but didn't manage to roll out of my sleeping bag until half an hour later. It didn't get too cold last night; just enough that I gradually zipped up my sleeping bag over the course of the night. It was very comfy by morning. I was a little slow breaking camp, but I managed to start hiking by 7:20.
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