Mile 44

It’s 7 pm on September 30, 2023, day two of my AZT hike. I’m in my tent listening to the wind and rain as I write my first blog post on trail. There is some lightning and thunder, but it’s off in the distance for now. I’ve hiked 44 trail miles in the first two days and am feeling pretty good.

Day 1: I was too excited and nervous to really enjoy day one. I took my first step on trail at 8:00 am and didn’t see another person until I stopped for lunch around noon. I met a few other hikers in the afternoon, but the conversations were short because everyone was busy HIKING! Some were just starting a southbound hike like me and others were on the final miles of their northbound hike. I camped at mile 22 near a water source. There were several hikers camped next to the water, but to avoid having animals walk through my campsite at night (a lesson I learned from experience), I walked a 1/4 mile past the water source and found a nice place to camp. I was in my tent by 7 pm and asleep by 9:30 pm. 

Day 2: I slept pretty well for the first night on trail and was up at 5:30 am and hiking at 6:30 am. I began to relax as the day wore on and started to enjoy myself until mid-afternoon when the wind and clouds began to build. It was time for a game of rain roulette: Can I walk one more mile before it starts raining? And if I successfully walk one, how about one more… I hate setting up my tent in the rain, but I equally hate setting up camp early and the rain is delayed or worse, never materializes. I stopped around 4:45 pm and set up my tent first. While I cooking dinner, it started raining, so I crawled into my tent, ate dinner, and except for brushing my teeth, I was in my tent until 6:15 am on day three. I mentioned the lightning and thunder earlier, but by 10 pm the storm was directly overhead and it was quite a show! You know it’s close when you can feel it! It rained all night and I didn’t sleep too well, but I was warm and dry so that’s a big win!

Thanks for following along!

Butterfingers