Kevin's AT Thru Hike

Day 59, Saturday, 5/14 – I woke up at about midnight. It turns out eating an entire gas station pizza before bed might not have been the best idea. I had some heartburn and just general discomfort. The bunk beds were covered in plastic, and didn’t have sheets. My quilt was my only bedding, and I didn’t like the feel of the plastic against my skin, so I couldn’t get back to sleep. I moved from the bed to a futon, and got a few more hours of sleep. I was hiking around 9am this morning, and was generally in better spirits.

Great hiking this morning! Here’s a photo of 4 Pines I took just before I left. The grounds were beautiful. The trail started off through more pasture, and there were cows grazing on the trail.

After the pastures, I began the ascent to McAfee Knob. I was hiking up to McAfee knob when I got a warning from Splitzy about bed bugs from 4 Pines. They had a lot of cloth couches there, so I wasn’t surprised to hear this. I don’t have any bites, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned. I’m going to check my gear when I get to camp tonight.

I got up to McAfee Knob, and the clouds from the morning had cleared, so I got a great view! I spent time enjoying the view, stretching, and uploading blog entries. I met Erik and Julia, two friendly day hikers that were enjoying the views. We chatted and took photos for each other at the iconic photo spot. Here’s a photo of me at the knob! But I like the 2nd photo more, you can really see the anxiety as I scooted towards the edge.

I hiked 17 miles total and ended the day at mile 721. I’m hammock camping right outside of Lamberts Meadow Shelter. I caught back up with Birthday Sandwich! I met his 3 friends that came out to visit, Joey, Ian, and Charsi. Also, I checked the gear, no bed bugs!