Day 91

Wet. That’s how I describe today. I couldn’t take a lot of pictures or videos today because of the rain, fog and wet, slippery rocks. Too unsafe to do so. I got out of the shelter pretty early so I could make it to the lodge for breakfast, which was only available between 7:30-10AM and I only had 4.7 miles to get there. For breakfast, I had two eggs scrambled, sausage and a stack of pancakes. Might be strange for breakfast dessert but I wasn’t leaving this park without trying the blackberry ice cream pie. So worth it! $13 for a slice is ridiculous though. Me and a guy named Donuts had breakfast together so we split the ice cream pie. The rest of the day was just hiking in fog and wet. For wildlife, Donuts and I came across a doe and her fawn. I got a pic where you can see the fawn’s spots visible but the cute face wasn’t visible. Due to the wet, Donuts and I got to Pass Mountain Hut and decided to stay in the shelter here as well. It looked like it would be just us and a guy named Cash. Then, a big trail family arrived and the shelter was shoulder to shoulder. Ugh! Too many people! It’s a shelter for 10 and it’s now a full house. I should have tented! I just didn’t want to cover my tent in mud as the tent sites were all mad orange dirt. It’s going to be a long night. Tomorrow, I’m pushing over 20 and getting to a campsite near a water source. I was starting to like shelters but this might have fixed that. Lots of people moving around and snoring. No privacy. Yep, I’m definitely a tent person. Oh, I cannot forget about the trail magic! Their names have skipped my mind but one of them hiked the trail last year and the other the year before, I believe. They had a great spread of beer, bagels with cream cheese and made us grilled cheese sandwiches. Cold, wet days are when trail magic is most needed and it was wonderful.