Thursday, 30 July

I may have worn out Liv and Jordan yesterday. At eight, there is still no stirring in their hammocks. I was up at my usual 6:30, had coffee and breakfast and then packed.

So far the hardest part of the trip for me has been waking up early and watching the sunrise and listening to the birds before everyone else is awake. So peaceful, so rough!

I woke them at 8:30. Jordan thought maybe it was seven. They got eleven and a half hours of sleep. We took our time with their breakfast and packing up. Started hiking a little before ten.

The Dunkenbarger Trail continued to be muddy for the first mile of hiking then we started a descent on Little Stonecoal Trail. We stopped at a creek crossing for a snack break. We thought we were at Red Creek but that was a little further and a much bigger creek. I got a foot wet. Liv put on her flip flops and Jordan stayed dry. Today had lots more ups and downs than yesterday as well as being a bit warmer.

We turned onto Red Creek Trail for the rest of the day. After our last crossing of Red Creek, we stopped for a late lunch. It was about 2:30 and started to cloud up. Shortly after we started back hiking it started to sprinkle and then rain a little steadier. We had a little thunder but no torrential rain. We got to put planned camp area for the night at The Forks and crossed Left Fork creek. There were several other tents but plenty of campsites. Finally found a spot for my tent and Jordan and Liv’s hammocks and quickly set up to get our of the rain.

A steady rain continued. We made a plan to filter water and cook dinner at six even if it was still raining. Cooking dinner consists of boiling water to add to a freeze dried package. At six I put on a rain jacket and got water. Liv did the boiling duties while I filtered water. Dinner was eaten in the hammocks and  tent. Unless it stops raining, the plan is to stay dry inside and wake at seven.