The name of the trail chooses you (Day 2)

I woke up today around 4am to artillery fire, or at least that’s what it seemed like. Military training around the AT is in full swing and apparently they don’t sleep in. But it wasn’t long before a beautiful dawn appeared through the trees, and this made up for the early morning antics.

Lucky finds

After some quick coffee, I hit the trail and was almost immediately greeted by Army Rangers conducting drills where the AT crosses Rock Creek Road. Dozens of soldiers swarmed the area and I was able to get one to verify that the bullets he had found the day before were, indeed, from his training.

As I made my way up Sassafras Mountain, I was reflecting on the name of the test trail I had been given the day before: “bullet.” I told myself that if I found a third bullet on the trail today (after the two I found yesterday), I would keep the trail’s name. If not, I would abandon it. Less than five minutes later, I saw another bullet half buried in the ground. It was in the best condition of any I had found so far. I thought now I have to accept the name of the trail. It seems like good luck.

Today, most of the group that camped overnight at Hawk Mountain Shelter hiked the 7.7 miles to Gooch Mountain Shelter. Some decided to go off trail and were picked up at Horse Gap or Cooper Gap. But of those who stayed, today we spent some time walking together intermittently. A few of us relaxed for a while at Cooper Gap, and Justus Creek was a beautiful place to stop and rest. A trail dog that had been camping with us the last two nights was having a great time splashing around.

It’s already fun seeing some of the same faces every night at camp. No one wants to get injured right off the bat, which is why most of us seem cautious about running more than 10 miles a day. However, this creates a lot of downtime at the campground, as most hikers arrive mid-afternoon. But it is not wasted time; Our bodies need ample rest to acclimatize. Maybe our minds need it too.

Tonight, some hikers sat by the campfire playing instruments and singing (don’t worry, no fire actually started). While the rest of us sat in the shelter chatting and laughing. This passes time quickly, no cell service required. The people here don’t disappoint, and I’ve noticed that the trail rarely does either.

Injury tracker

Hip feels even better today. Everything hurts, but it’s to be expected. Forward!

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