Friday, July 17 6:58 pm 16.7 mi
AT 1167.3 Clark’s Mtn Rd Campsite → AT 1184.0 Tentsite
Weather: MUGGY AM, warm and sunny PM, rain and storms last night
Trail Conditions: Decent section flooded out by beaver dam, another relatively dry stretch with water sources
My Condition: Feet definitely appreciating the cold soaking and the lower mileage as I continue to recover from the 4 State Challenge and from 1184 miles of trail! Right ankle has been red and puffy for awhile – possible spider bite/wasp sting/poison ivy all in the same spot. Benedryl, hydrogen peroxide, neosporin, after bite pen – it’s finally looking less angry and feeling less itchy. Not a ton to say today – wrung probably 16 oz of sweat from my shirt just a couple miles into the day. Met some day hikers from Scranton with a couple of huskies. Saw a big green luna catepillar today. My tent needed its first intensive repair – it is ripping along the seam right along the trekking pole cup. I looked up and saw blue sky and noticed there was no mesh in between. Slapped some Tenacious Tape on it for now – hopefully that’ll keep the tear from expanding further.
Post Trail Analysis
Of all the hot, muggy days on trail, this one was probably the sweatiest. I remember taking off my shirt to wring it out not that long into the day! Crazy humid. For as great a customer service experience as I had with Aftershokz replacing my non-functioning headphones, my experience working with Zpacks was less than impressive, which is particularly disappointing because they are a company that understands thru hiking! That tear kept getting worse and worse despite my field repairs – sewing it and taping over it with Tenacious Tape or the included DCF repair tape only delayed the inevitable. You’d expect them to understand that you can’t just box up your tent and ship it away mid thru hike. A tent is one of the priciest purchases most thru hikers make, so getting a replacement, even temporarily, isn’t feasible. I’d love to see them offer some type of short-term loaner service while repairs are under way, but alas, the problem kept worsening and I simply had to make do until the journey was over.
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