July 29 - 18.8 / 1,941.4

I wanted to leave the hostel early. All the others went to eat breakfast while I went to the road to try and hitch. I sat there for over 45 minutes with no luck. After a while, I saw Sonic walking back down the street from the diner. I knew it would just be better for me to get a hitch with everyone else from the hostel. We got a ride to the trail at 10:30. I wasn't too pleased by this time cause I knew it was going to be a long day of hiking.

We passed a lot of people on bicycles as we were riding to the trailhead. I looked over to Samurai and asked what type of job these people had to be out riding on a workday. Come to find out, all the riders were riding across the country. They started in Washington state and were making their way to the east coast. I met some of the support crew at the trail head. They were interested in our trip, and I was interested in theirs. Turns out that they were all with the same group out of Denver. They had a set itinerary and ride together. Sounds cool, but I think I would like the freedom to choose my own distances. I'll look into it though as riding across the country might be my next endeavor in a few years.

The hike started out with a climb to the first shelter. A climb is almost a gimme when leaving a town. I was going at a slow pace with Samurai behind me. Riverdog and Sonic both took off from the get go. They were at the shelter when we arrived. A few southbounders were also there. Two of them were a couple that looked familiar. I asked them if they had attended the REI thru hiker clinic in Atlanta. Turns out that they did. I knew they were planning on starting in Maine after they got married. I just wasn't sure when or if I would actually see them. It was also funny because they had met Riverdog in Georgia after he had started his trip. I think they were out for a few days getting their legs warmed up. It really is a small world out here. I gave them my information and told them to contact me once they got done with the trail. Their trail names were Ragamuffin and Micah.
They were just two of the fifteen or so southbounders I met this day. It was almost out of control. I felt like I would round a corner and another one would be walking up the trail. Being Chatty Cathy, I almost stopped and talked to every single one of them. If it wasn't a long conversation, I would at least give them a heads up about the detours that are not worth taking. I think Sam and I have made it a goal to tell the SOBOs about how pointless they are.

Speaking of detours, today brought us to another one over Mt. Moody. It was about 50 yards long which was a nice short one. There had been a mini rock slide which had knocked out the trail. I had heard from other hikers about the detour. They had also mentioned that it was very steep in the area and a few of them had trouble coming down Moody. I got a good laugh because I didn't think it was that difficult of an area.

Overall, the day was a lot of climbs. I believe it was over 6,000 feet of elevation gain for the entire day. I was pretty worn out by the end of the day. It was getting dark by the time I arrived at the shelter. The shelter area was quite crowded and tent spots were limited. Ringleader, Monkey, and Lightning were also there. I saw them last in PA. I almost set my tent up on top of Lightning's as I couldn't find another spot. That is figuratively, not literally. I did ask if I was too close before getting everything out.

I ended up cooking in the dark and trying to eat as quietly as possible. That can be rather difficult when using a titanium spork and pot.

I don't recall mentioning this, but my current ailment is some side pains. At first, I thought it was just a cramp. However, it is still persistent. I think I might have bruised my ribs when I took a fall a few days back. Tightening my pack and sleeping are probably when it hurts the most. I'll get by though.