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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Beast and I intended to use the local transportation service in Marion to get a ride from the motel to the to the town center, and then try and hitch a ride to the trailhead I left off at. We discovered, however, that the transit service doesn't start running until 10 am this time of year, and so set off walking to town and attempting to hitchhike on the way, before I had the brilliant idea to call a taxi and have them drive us to the trailhead.
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