unnamed campsite to chestnut knob shelter

another long day hiking in the blistering sun. most definitely looking forward to some leaves. i left camp this morning at 08:03 and was sweating by 08:10.

i hiked pretty much alone today. i left as everyone else was finishing packing up. the terrain was hot, dry, spring forest and some pasture walks. pastures in spring are really spectacular. i noticed grasshoppers all over the place.

pretty early on, i passed the 1/4 way marker, which is right around 550 miles on trail. the long trail yo-yo was 550, so i’m officially on my longest thru-hike.

while hiking in the forest today i came across a big black snake, which i think was almost 4 feet long. magz identified it as a rat snake.

lunch was at knot maul shelter where maestro and lyric caught up to me, but again i left before them.

the afternoon was tough, to keep the sun off my shoulders i wore my long sleeve capiline, which is unfortunately black, and a bandana under my hat for my ears and neck, which is navy blue. so i was hot to say the least. when i replace this shirt it’ll definitely be with one of a lighter color.

the afternoon was broken up by a river we had to ford because the bridge had been taken out by a flood. it wasn’t very deep and i made it across barefoot pretty quickly. the cold water felt so good though that i then went for a swim and washed my socks. maestro caught up to me and soaked his feet. (you can see the former bridge on the right)

i took off again for the last 6 miles, which included a hard 4 mile climb at the end to the shelter, and then since the shelter had no water, a half mile water carry.

when i arrived at the shelter, the field next to it was already littered with tents. the view past them was impressive to say the least.

the shelter itself was also pretty unique in that it had four walls and a door, as well as individual bunks. a hiker named tennessee slim and his husky had stayed the day. he only hikes at night because it’s too hot for the husky otherwise.

everyone else filtered in over the next hour, some opting for the shelter, some for the field. i was feeling lazy and opted for the shelter. as it turned out, the only folks in the shelter ended up being maestro, all mixed up, and me.

the shelter also had decent cell service, so i was able to chat with magz, and the brother and sister outlaw for a minute. they told me how they had grilled chicken and sweet potatoes, which was tough to hear. magz also mentioned at some point she was planning on watching TV and eating some ice cream. oof. i want that.

i grabbed a picture of sunset just before i hit my sleeping bag.

some additional images from today:

i also did an unstitched panorama: