It rained most of the night. The rain continued into the early morning. Hiking was delayed by thirty minutes waiting for the rain to stop. Once we started, the conditions were good. Cool, dry, and foggy. 

Today my mojo returned. It was a big climb right out of the shelter and I powered up the ascent. My strength held throughout the day. My mind was focused. It was a good day. 

Once we hit the paved road, it was time to hitch into town. First try, a pickup pulled over. Four dirty, stinky hikers piled into the bed for the ten mile ride to town. I haven’t rode in the back of a truck in decades. It was a AT bucket list to hitch in the bed of a truck. 

The evening was spent eating, doing laundry, and food resupply. The only store close was Dollar General. Good thing my food load is only three days. It’s mostly nuts, bars, cookies, chips, and jerky. Good thing I can eat whatever I want. It’s a lot of calories, but maybe not the best thing for my teeth. 

Rain is forecast for tomorrow. The plan is to hike. However, if it’s really crappy, OC and I will just zero here. 

Hopefully the forecasters are off the mark.