Woke up this morning to the sound of rain on the tent. Great. Stayed in the tent longer than usual to see if it would stop. It didn't. So we carried on. Luckily, this was a rendezvous day, and we had only 3.5 miles to go to reach the pick-up point. Dad and I managed to figure out a way to take the tent down under the rain fly so that the inside didn't get wet. Clever us. We have pack covers so out bags didn't get too wet. But the rain was really only a steady drip, not a blustering downpour. In that situation, I'm pretty sure you just get wet. We trudged on through the rain, up yet another mountain. Heavy fog rolled in, to the point where visibility was about two feet in front of your face. In my opinion, it really just got more fun as the day wore on. I dropped my Werther's caramel that I kept in my pocket for "summit treats." That upset me. Luckily, I had a spare.
We made it to the first point where the AT crosses the highway at around noon, where Mamma was waiting like a knight in shiny, grey, four-wheeled, American-made, Ford-brand armor. She brought us a wonderful lunch of deli sandwiches, raw veggies, chips, homemade dip and oatmeal cookies, along with grocery bags full of things to restock our camp-food bag with. Without her and the ability to rendezvous with a support vehicle, we'd have to carry about 20 lbs. more food and gear. We had the opportunity to create a little "trail magic" as we sat and debated about whether or not to suit up and carry on or wait for the weather to clear. A dripping, heavily laden thru-hiker, a young man who looked about my age, wearing shorts even in the cold rain, appeared out of the mist and plopped down under the only shelter other than our car - a small set of wooden benches under a roof. He looked cold and tired, so we fixed up a plate of sandwich and offered it to him. After that, we helped him contact the shuttle to the nearby town, and he acted like no one had ever been so nice to him in his life. So, "Denver," I hope you dried out, and I hope we see you in Maine. Blessings to you and your journey.
Ultimately, we decided that it wasn't worth ruining our gear and our sprits over spring break. So we packed it in back to the cabin in TN, where I promptly found solace in the hot tub. I am unapologetic for this decision. There's a time and a place for carrying on through the stormy brine. Today was not it. The next hours will be spend watching the Weather Channel and planning our next move.
Miles Travelled: 3.5
Distance from Springer: 20.1
Distance from Katahdin: 2,158
Feeling: Hopeful
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