Date: 2023-04-07
From: Muskrat Creek Shelter

To: Carter Gap Shelter
Miles today: 12.5
Weather: broken clouds

Today did not start out great. My air mattress got a hole in it a few days ago, so when I was at Around the Bend I sent it home and bought a foam sleeping pad to try out. I think I should have tried fixing the hole instead. It also didn't help that I was laying at an angle so I really didn't get a good nights sleep.I think it was around 6:30am when I got everything packed up and started the days hike. About 30 minutes later it started raining. It was still raining when I stopped to take a break about 4 miles later at the Standing Indian shelter. Up to this point I was still feeling pretty depressed like I was yesterday. But after I began walking that feeling started to go away. It wasn't until about 11:30am that the rain finally stopped and throughout the rest of the day the sun never really came out so I never really had the chance to dry off. It was during this period where I discovered that either my phone wasn't actually water resistant or it wasn't water resistant enough. It had been in my leg pocket, but it had rained so much that I was completely soaked through. When I took it out to see where I was at, it was turned off and it wouldn't turn back on. I can't say that I panicked, but it was concerning. The FarOut app was a very useful tool for figuring out where shelters, water sources, and other points of interest were located. It was also how I was making entries in this journal and keeping in touch with family so that they knew I was doing okay. So, it was a tool that I didn't want to be without.When I finally got to the shelter, it was about 3:30pm. There was only one other person there and it was a guy that I had met and gotten to know a little bit from shelters before. His trail name is Cruz. I usually wake up and hit the trail before him, but he's a much faster hiker and always manages to catch up and pass me pretty quick. He let me use his phone so that I could let my family know the situation and get a hotel reservation for Franklin setup. Then I just set my phone out and hoped when it dried out it would start working again. If not, then I would have to see about getting a new one in Franklin. When I got to the shelter I changed into mostly dry clothes which was nice. I've laid my wet clothes out to dry, but without the sun I don't think it's going to do much good which means I'm probably hiking in wet clothes tomorrow. It's also supposed to get pretty cold tonight and I think it's supposed to rain again tomorrow as well. That's life on the trail sometimes I guess.Breakfast: Peak Refuel Strawberry and Granola. This was the first cold rehydrated meal I've had. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great either. Apparently it's just really hard to make a good freeze dried breakfast of any kind. Still, it was decent enough that I'll probably eat it again at some point.Trail Magic: There was a very nice older couple at mile 85 (I'm guessing at the location based on the AT guide) that was handing out Easter bags to hikers. It had some grapes, an orange, a box of raisins, a hard boiled egg, and some assorted candy. I ate the fruit immediately and saved the rest for later.I didn't eat anything else until I got to the shelter. Being wet and cold just made me want to keep walking.Recovery Drink: 8 scoops of Carnation Instant Breakfast Dinner: Knorr Taco Rice with a packet of white meat chicken. This is the second time I've had the Knorr rice packets and I thought this one was pretty good also, especially with the added chicken. I didn't make it like the packet said, instead I just poured boiling water into it and let it sit for about 15 minutes. I also snacked throughout the rest of the day on the dried fruit mix to help make up some of the calories I didn't eat earlier.