Jefe - Appalachian Trail Journal - 2013

Back to Boiling Springs

Up very early and on the trail at 0533. I wanted to get as much done as I could before it got too hot. I finished the rocks, went over the two ridges towards the Cumberland Valley. Walking through some ripe hay fields activated my allergies and my eyes started swelling some. I was carrying an extra liter of water and would fill up every chance I had. I tried to keep drinking, but it got very hot. I re-saw pretty much all the people we stayed at James Fry Shelter with and also saw Lady Gray and her group one more time the day before.

The valley wasn't too bad. A lot of the time you were still walking through fringe forest, but there were times that you had to do the field. I was happy when an overcast rolled in around 1400. By then, my feet were screaming at me. I had developed blisters at the front of the ball of my foot and down hills were now pretty painful. I just kept moving on because I knew I had a vehicle, some food and a nice shower waiting for me if I could get this 21.6 miles done. I finally got back to the truck just before 1700. Almost 12 hours of hiking. I took a nice long 45 minute lunch and lots of breaks to rest my feet on the second half of the walk, but I got it done. I guess I averaged about 1.8 mph. Not bad for a section hiker.

With the completion of this hike, I now have just over 200 miles of unique AT miles. Only 1985 miles left to walk.

Entry 24 of 24
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