(Tentsite (mile 1184) - Eagle's Nest Shelter (mile 1211.2))

Numbers and I woke up to more cold rain, which continued on and off all day. The morning hiking wasn’t too eventful - mostly just cold and rainy - although, I did get to witness Numbers navigate the Pennsylvania rocks in his trash bag poncho (which, to his credit, he handled gracefully). The rocks made themselves known today, with a few stretches of trail that were little more than boulder fields. Despite the rain, the rocks weren’t too slippery. However, they weren’t always stable, and I relied on my well-conditioned rock feet and trail legs to manage the minefield of unpredictably-shifty boulders.

With the cold and rain, I had my sights set on a shelter for the evening. The 501 shelter was about 16 miles into the day, just a bit before the 1200 mile mark. I knew I wanted to go farther than 16 miles, and I also wanted to break 1200 miles, so the next shelter, Eagle’s Nest, became my destination. That meant I needed to bust out a 27.2 mile day.

Numbers, decked out in his trash bag poncho

Just before 4pm, the rain let up as Numbers and I reached the 1200 mile mark! Numbers reminded me that he didn’t start at Springer, so it wasn’t mile 1200 for him (at least not this year).

As the afternoon wore on, the rain mostly held out. I hiked on without Numbers for the last few miles after he stopped for a biology break. I continued listening to my true crime serial killer audiobook and passed a small group of hikers about a mile before the shelter. I reached Eagles Nest and was shocked to find it empty. As I was eating dinner the small group I had passed reached the shelter. They turned out to be a small trail family of thru hikers. There was a couple named “Sticks” (the lady) and “Ranger” (the guy). There was also a gentleman in his (50s?) named “Whistler” who kind of looked like Fred Armisen. Also Gadget