Trail Letter 2: 3/14 and 3/15

15.3 miles today, most of which was in the sometimes pouring, sometimes drizzling but always dreary rain. On top of that, it’s pretty cold. It was a good opportunity for us to test our rain set-ups, and I think everyone’s happy with the results. I am. And we’re all VERY happy to have a dry shelter – even if it was built in the 50s… only has one leak in the roof!

I have two baby blisters – one on a toe of each foot. They’re not debilitating, but I plan to Moleskine them tomorrow before we set out anyway.

The time passes much quicker for me than when we started, and I’ve already grown to enjoy the long days’ hikes. I told a friend before I started — I said, “If I end up being miserable all the time, I’ll just go home.” But although the conditions (today, at least) and some situations would seem miserable to most, they give me great inner joy… at least so far.

3/15

12.1 miles today. It’s less than what we’ve been doing, but it was absolutely pouring rain — and hailing. Everything from my waist down was 100% saturated – my feet and shoes were a giant sponge.

So what a relief when we made it to a shelter! Except it leaks in 3 places. Luckily we got here before the other two guys (Wolf Scout and Sam), so we got to pick the dry spots. While we were here, it hailed 2 or 3 more times, and it continues to spastically pour as I write. The lightning is amazing — the whole sky goes pink for a moment.

The moleskines and duct tape did the trick on my blisters. They’re still there, but they hurt a whole lot less.