Monday, February 28th

Swag of the Blue Ridge to Deep Gap Shelter 

Miles 3.9

Total miles 65.6

The morning started off challenging. It was no longer raining, the rain had turned to ice. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get the tent fly unbuckled from the tent.  My hands were frozen so I packed my tent and called it good. 

I took lots of breaks today. The mountains were steep and I was dehydrated. Lesson learned, plan better next time. The first water source on the trail was down a steep slope. I left my backpack at the halfway point on the slope. It ended up taking a tumble. I saw it roll 4 times before it stopped. Better my backpack than me. After getting my water sorted I was on my way again.

I got to the shelter in early afternoon.  I had the shelter to myself for a few hours. I dried my tent out and had my choice of spots. After an hour or so more hikers showed up. It was nice to visit with everyone before hiker’s midnight. 

Hiker’s midnight is basically when the sun goes down. At that time, most hikers are quiet and everyone turns in for the night.

My home for the night.

This one felt never-ending, lol!

Sunrise at Swag of the Blue Ridge