Mile 766.6—Cornelius Fudge Shelter [21.5 miles]
Friday, May 17
Just kidding. It’s Cornelius Creek Shelter! A little Harry Potter humor, there.
Holy crap. No wonder I was sobbing and slogging and dragging that last brutal 2-mile climb. Like… every step uphill felt like an act of will, and I was ripping myself for not being able to even get 19. But it turns out it was 21.5. And I double-checked the math, because I inadvertently camped close to an overlook last night. The math is right. Holy crap. It took 13 hours, but, yeah. Yeah. 😀👍
This shelter is crowded. I thought Trail Days would have done some winnowing, but a lot of these guys appear to be locals out for a section or the weekend.
So. Frogs +1, turtles +1. Here are the current standings:
Snakes: 4Frogs: 2
Turtles: 3
Red salamanders (elts?): 4
But I’m telling you, the frogs will win in the end.
It rained hard for a few hours this morning, but the afternoon was hot hot hot…er, humid. Humid and also hot. And sunny. The skeeters are out in force! I’m getting pin-cushiony.
Wicked’s hiking with a guy named Green Blaze. GB’s brother, Bruh, is off trail with tendinitis, so he did a little “trail magic” today—Cokes and Snickers for the win! Bruh will be back in a couple of weeks.
What else? Nothing. I’m beat.
Tomorrow: Well… 15 or 16, I guess, then into Glasgow on Sunday to resupply!
Karma AT2019 