Kevin's AT Thru Hike

Day 124, Monday, 7/18 – I hiked with Genie, Splitzy, Birthday, and 100 Grand today. It started raining in the morning, but not enough to drop the temperature. It just became really humid which made everything feel sticky. It ended up raining light like this all day.

We came across a neat rock garden early in the hike. Over time, hikers had stacked rocks to form cairns. There was a circular rock formation on the ground where some hikers thought it would be funny to place fake blood on the rocks. I encouraged Birthday to sit in the circle.

About 10 miles into the hike, we stopped at Minerva Hinchey Shelter for lunch and to get out of the rain. There were a lot of new faces at the shelter when we stopped in. Eventually there was some turnover and we were joined by Dreamer, Crinkle, and Gandalf.

The second half of the day had some steep ascents, and I was sweating like crazy due to the high temperature and humidity. I hiked about 15 miles when I began to feel light headed and shaky. I stopped, took a break, ate a bunch of food, and drank a bunch of electrolytes. I felt better, but I wasn’t 100%.

I hiked 19 miles to Governor Clement Shelter (Mile 1694). I immediately set up my tarp and hammock so I’d have a dry place to store my items. I chatted with 100 Grand about outdoor hobbies as I setup camp. I then went into the shelter to cook food. Once I started cooking, I realized I was starving. I cooked 2 ramens at once and threw in a healthy amount of peanut butter. That did the trick. I then went back to my hammock and got ready for sleep. The rain really picked up over night.