It didn’t take long before I had a day of rain. It started overnight. I stayed pretty dry under my tarp. I pitched it too high and a bit was spraying underneath. I think I may also have missed a few spots on the seam sealing. Nothing more than noticeable though. I mustered up the courage to get out. I packed quickly and set off down the trail. Overall my rain gear did as I expected. It kept me dry for about and hour. By time I hit Gooch Mtn shelter I was soaked through. I’d call the rain a gentle shower.

I hung around Gooch for a while. Several from Hawk Mtn showed up. The Dartmouth girls arrived wearing only (rather short) shorts. They looked miserable to me. Melissa and Luke also arrived along with a new guy named Robert. I suspect many were going to zero at Hawk. Rock had beat me there. He camped just ahead of me at Justus Creek. He, Melissa, Blue Butterfly and I all hiked back out. It felt much warmer than sitting.

Bear in mind that warmer was relative. At the peak there was huge winds, I’d guess around 25 mph. Add that to 40F temps and rain, you can imagine. Despite all this I made it to Lance Creek. It was AT mile 24.3, putting me at 12 miles even for the day and a total of 1%!

Tomorrow will be just over 7 miles and get me in to Neels Gap and the Walasi Yi. I’m looking forward to a warm bed and a giant hamburger.