2018 AT – Day Twenty Nine – Bald Mountain Shelter

Wednesday, 27 June

Destination: Bald Mountain Shelter	Today’s Miles: 7.7
Start Location: Sam’s Gap – Mother Marion’s Hostel	Trip Miles: 328.2

The forecast for today was for more thunderstorms this afternoon. My original plan was to hike thirteen miles to a campsite. Not wanting to pack up a wet tent again, the plan changed to a short day to the shelter and a longer day tomorrow into the next hostel. Jared and I had breakfast at the hostel and got a ride back to the trail and were hiking a little after nine. My plan was to check the weather when we arrived at the shelter and decide whether to go ten more miles to the next shelter.

We had nice climb over Big Bald and had a full 360 view. You could see showers off in the distance in a couple of directions. As we started down, the showers began. There was a light rain but no thunder for about the half hour it took to get to Bald Mountain Shelter. Then it started to pour and continued for a couple of hours. An ex-Marine, Wing It, came in during the downpour. Wing It is thru hiking.

The rain finally stopped and the sun came out for a while. I got water and cooked some dinner. Jared, Wing It, and I are staying dry in the shelter tonight. I plan on getting out early so I can get to Uncle Johnny’s Hostel early tomorrow afternoon.