pine swamp branch shelter to laurel creek shelter

hard day today. the weather called for rain and it did. we got a little lucky in that it was not raining when we left camp, but not long after it started.

i hiked with bugs for the first part of the morning. we talked about a lot of stuff, but quite a bit on interpersonal relationships. i think about relationships a lot, i think in part because they often confound me. the breadth of human experience is so vast, i wonder how some folks navigate it so well.

i think a lot about my relationship with magz (even when not on trail). our decade together has definitely had it’s rough spots, but i feel like we’ve grown together working through it all.

bugs and i stopped at bailey gap shelter for a snack. i headed out first and hiked the rest of the day alone. it was a hard wet slog. i listened to a rainy day mix magz sent me and some podcasts to keep my mind distracted. the trail was annoying to say the least. it hasn’t been maintained well and so it’s getting overgrown. if i looked down, i was constantly getting slapped in the face with branches, and if i looked up to avoid the branches i’d trip or slip on the myriad rocks in the trail. it was frustrating to say the least.

i stopped for lunch at war spur shelter. rocket was already there, and lyric and i arrived essentially together. everyone in the shelter was having a rough day as well. i ate lunch and left early beforey heat had all gone.

the afternoon was more of the same. i tried to call magz a few times, but with no luck. my mind wandered to all sorts of ridiculous reasons that she wasn’t picking up, and i took it as an opportunity to do some mindfulness practice. eventually she called, bit just as cell service was failing. she had been running errands all day. it was very nice to hear her chipper and empathetic voice.

i got to the shelter before everyone. we had debated going one shelter further, so i waited. eventually rocket showed up and he wasn’t interested in carrying on. i had planned to set my tent up when the rain stopped, which the weather said would be at four, but ultimately gave up and set up in the shelter. i changed my clothes and took a nap to warm up. the rain didn’t stop until just before dinner.

only one photo today on account of the weather: