Kevin's AT Thru Hike

Day 38, Saturday, 4/23 – It was a good first night in the hammock, I slept like a rock. Though I think it helps that I am going to bed exhausted. The real test will be how it holds up in bad weather. I may get some rain on Monday night.

I packed up and hiked alone for the first half of the day. I was in a surprisingly good mood. I felt present and was just enjoying the hike.

About halfway through the hike today, I ran into some amazing trail magic. Spice Girl, Keith, Holly, and Tough Cookie had Set up a grill and were serving up delicious cheese burgers. They plan on sticking around to make breakfast again tomorrow. Music Man decided to camp at trail magic to catch the breakfast tomorrow. It was a beautiful campground, very shady next to a nice sized creek.

Right after the trail magic, we came across Laurel Fork Falls, which was an awesome waterfall. Several day hikers were lounging by the falls. It was starting to get hot out, and it felt cooler near the waterfall. I would have liked to have laid around longer, but I wanted to get to Boots Off before dark.

After the falls was a 2,000 ft climb up Pond Mountain, then a 2,000 ft descent. It was 85 degrees with little shade, so the climb was grueling. Fortunately, I climbed it with Birthday Sandwich and Genie, and our conversation distracted me from the tough climb.

I hiked 15 miles to Boots Off Campground at mile 428. It’s nice weather, so I’m hammock camping again tonight. There’s also some concern that Norovirus is going around, so I don’t mind steering clear of the common bunk areas.

Natalie and Laura are section hikers who are also staying at Boots Off. They had their car parked at Boots Off and brought Birthday Sandwich, Sprite and myself to McDonalds.