Day 10: Alec Kennedy Shelter

20 mi

The trail gives hope in one mile and dashes it in the next. Today was an eventful day. We moved on early not entirely sure where we would stay the night. We were hoping for a shower at the campground. We first stopped at Pine Grove Furnace State Park, home of the half gallon challenge. Not having enough of an appetite to eat half a gallon nor had we completed half the trail, we merely got a cone. We managed to bust out the miles to the next shelter (10.1 mi) and felt good enough to press on. At the campground, we were sadly disappointed that the laundry was not working so we pressed on. We passed the next campground as we were making such good time we thought we could make Alec Kennedy shelter. As we came down the trail, we had some trail magic, a cooler with Pepsi and Mountain Dew. We took a break before pressing onto a very rocky section. We slowed down to a nothing pace but managed to make our miles just barely before running out of water. We had a long day but made great progress. Feet are sore but my cold seems to be on the mend. I might have incurred another blister. Tomorrow we will see how badly off we really are. We will make Boiling Springs tomorrow.