Kevin's AT Thru Hike

Day 102, Sunday, 6/26 – We woke up late from the drive in, packed up, and went back to the grocery store. The grocery store had an area with tables and chairs that we hung out at and drank coffee. We grabbed a few more food items before starting to hitch back to trail. It was around 9:00am when we started moving, which was a much later start than we had all planned.

There were 6 of us trying to hitch, which definitely lengthens the time it takes to land a hitch. There were likely people that would have stopped, but couldn’t accommodate all 6 of us, so they didn’t pick us up. We were out in the hot sun for a while before a compact SUV stopped. I was concerned that we wouldn’t fit. That was before I saw that the guy had his 5 year old daughter in a car seat in the back. The guy was confident that we could make it work. Birthday squeezed in the trunk with the packs, Genie and Splitzy shared the captain’s seat, and the rest of us were able to pile in the back seat. It was a fun ride and definitely one of the more unique hitches.

There was a lot of hiking today along a rocky ridge. The ridge didn’t have much shade, so it was really hot. Fortunately, I heard that there was an ice cream joint halfway through the hike. Knowing that there was ice cream up trail was surprisingly motivating.

I hiked with Genie and Splitzy up to the Bellvale Farms Creamery. It was a nicer place than I was expecting, and the ice cream was great. We got a mix of banana splits, sundaes, and ice cream sandwiches.

The second half of the hike was miserably hot. I had completely sweat through my shirt, and the heat zapped away my energy.

I hiked 21 miles to a stealth camping spot just past Orange Turnpike (Mile 1386). I am hammock camping with Genie, Splitzy, Half Time, Birthday, and Frodo. We showed up just before sundown, and didn’t have a lot of water because the closest source was stagnant, so we all opted to eat snacks for dinner because they don’t require water to cook. It was still hot when I went to sleep, so for the first night, I didn’t need to use my quilt.