Date: 2018-05-21
From: Mile 571

To: Trail Boss Trail Intersection 
Miles today: 15.3
Weather: scattered clouds

By the morning Cole was feeling much better. His toes did not look as red and he said that they did not hurt any more. He was up and out of bed early and anxious to get hiking once again. I have a notion that he took in a little too much sun yesterday and possibly even burned his toes.You would never guess what was in the forecast. Thunderstorms! The sun was shining brightly, but by now we knew not to trust in that as an indicator. The weather seems to change quickly on the AT.Foolishly we had not paid attention to our water resources the night before. We¢ve had so much of it around us for so long that I neglected to check. Now we were up on a ridge line and there would be no drinking water for six miles. It was a long dry six miles.We came to a road crossing with a car parked at it. Trail Magic? No such luck. However there was a garbage can. Being able to unload our garbage is a kind of trail magic too. This time it came with a hitch. There was a second garbage can with a note on it asking us to carry a bag of wood chips from the can to the privy at the next shelter. I guess that is a small price to pay for being able to get rid of our trash. I filled up one of the bags provided with wood chips and attached it to my pack.When I reached the water source, Cole had already filled his bottle and guzzled half a litre of water. I did the same. We rested and snacked, then I headed on while he rested some more. There was a shelter less than two miles away. It was too early to stop for the day, but it would make a good place to have lunch.The sky grumbled over head. Rehydrated and energy renewed, I kicked it into high gear and headed for that shelter as fast as my legs could take me. At this point my boots had mostly dried out, except for the toe box on my right foot which seems to be perpetually wet. As I raced on I just kept thinking..dry feet, dry feet, I need dry feet. Thankfully the pains in my feet have actually diminished. However, when my feet are wet, a new form of foot pain takes over and makes it¢s way right down to the bone. It is a miserable ache! I need dry feet! I must have been flying awfully fast because Cole didn¢t even catch up to me before I reached Jenkins Shelter.Not long after Cole arrived behind me, the rain and thunder came. Other hikers arrived and decided to spend the night. Not us. When the storm seemed to let up, we hit the trail again. Our determination to go further was not without motivation. About 11 miles away was a deli. The closer we got to it, the sooner we would be able to eat something other than trail food.It sprinkled a bit, but mostly the rain held off. We made it to the intersection of the AT and Trail Boss Trail before calling it a day. In the evening after dinner I usually work on writing my journal. Cole will socialize or play on his iPod. Today we were camped alone and the iPod battery was dead. Before we had left for our hike, I had taught Cole how to French braid hair. He was not really thrilled about learning, but I tried to convince him that it would make him a hit with girls. Well, I guess he must have been pretty bored because he asked, ¢Can I practice braiding your hair?¢I love having my hair braided so of course I didn¢t say no. Three times he braided and unbraided my hair, and the last time I kept it in.  I¢ve got a pretty good kid!