We all broke camp and departed about 7:45am, except for Goldie who seems to prefer a later start. Since it starts getting light around 4am here, I would prefer an even earlier start, maybe 7am. The day is long and the cooler morning temperatures work better for me.
I actually headed out shortly before Troop Leader and Pigweed in the hopes of warming up with a nice, slow start. As I went, I found the trail was super flat and easy—not as many rocks and roots. So, feeling good, I decided to stretch my legs. I continued at a good pace for a couple of hours when I decided to have something to eat. But the mosquitos were so heavy I decided to eat and walk to make a harder target. The mosquitos continued like this for most of the hike—except for the first and last hours. I was especially thankful I had treated my clothes and some gear with permethrin before leaving home. That seemed to really slow down the mosquitos and prevent them from landing on my clothes. It was only my hands and face exposed and bug repellant worked well enough.
A short way into the hike the trail passed by a boulder with a US Geological Survey point which I thought was cool. I don’t believe I have ever run across one in the wild before.
We also crossed a few logging roads today and said hi to some hikers who are just out for a few days. They must use these roads to get on the trail.
Late morning it started raining and continued off and on for a few hours. I got wet but was happy for the cooler temps which helped me keep going at a good pace. My trail buddies never caught up to me and I arrived to the lean-to around 2:30pm. I might have felt good enough to keep going after a rest except it was 11+ miles to the next shelter. And we have a “food drop” to pick up in the morning just 3 miles down the trail.
I have seen something new every day and the landscape is amazing.