The hardest day so far (day 16)

I woke up to a beautiful sunrise on what would turn out to be a difficult day. We knew there would be big climbs leaving the NOC, but it felt like the whole day was a long struggle.

Today we climbed almost 13 miles. There were a few sections where the trail went down or leveled out, but overall we went up. But almost as if the universe knew we would be fighting, they sent us some very interesting fauna to break the monotony. This included a rattlesnake (the first rattlesnake I’ve ever seen in the wild!) and a slimy salamander.

Leaving Stecoah Gap for the last two miles of the day was particularly brutal. They all battled up what appeared to be the steepest and most difficult climb since starting the AT, a section of the trail known as Jacob’s Ladder. When we finally reached the top, we were exhausted. Basically all I did tonight at camp was filter water, eat fried mashed potatoes and tuna, and hang up my Ursack. Cheers to tomorrow!

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