7/29/20 Day 84: "Secret Shelter" (1345.9) to Large Stream Stealth Site (1361.7)

Wednesday, July 29 9:31 pm 15.8 mi

AT 1345.9 “Secret Shelter” → AT 1361.7 Large Stream Stealth Site

Weather: Dewey overnight, hot and sunny today all day

Trail Conditions: Lots of exposed, open (in terms of sun) trail today along the boardwalks. Really enjoyed the unique scenery today – swampy wetland environments and farmland

My Condition: Right ankle swollen from multiple wasp stings. The little jerks were clinging to my socks getting in all the stings they could. Must have been a nest on one of the boardwalk sections!

Hikers Met: Pace, Lone Wolf, and ??

Sad morning saying goodbye to Jake the donkey. He watched as we packed our bags and ran after us a ways after we scratched his head goodbye. He finally turned and headed back home after seeing us off though. Jim Murray, who owns the secret shelter and lets AT hikers stay there absolutely free, is incredible – thank you for such a magical night! The AT is known for PUDs – pointless ups and downs. Today, we got PAAs – pointless around and arounds. I loved and welcomed the new terrain, however, and the new biodiversity with the new swampland and marshy areas. Great stop at Heaven Hill Farm! Portapotties, a whole brick of maple fudge, 3 apple cider donuts, a Coke, and a bag of chips. Met 3 thru hikers, who are staying in town at a B&B tonight. They knew Blue Sasquatch from all of her many helpful Guthook comments. She’s trail famous!

Post Trail Analysis

I have a knack for attracting stinging insects. It never ceased to amaze me that I would manage to get stung a bunch walking the exact same as my trail family, and they wouldn’t get stung at all. There was a time when Puddles, Hummingbird, Blue, and I walked in a line. Puddles, Hummingbird, and Blue all managed to walk past a wasp nest without issue, only for me to get stung mercilessly. I guess it’s payback for all of the nests I’ve had to spray and knock down from cabins, bathhouses, and high ropes courses over the years. The wetland loop almost formed a backwards C – the shortest, most efficient route would have been to continue straight along the road at the C’s opening, but then we would’ve missed out on the welcome change in scenery. I really enjoyed this stroll through the marsh, despite the surprise stinging insects! We always got a kick out of it when we’d introduce ourselves to other hikers, and the other hikers would recognize Blue from her Guthook comments. When we say she was a trail celebrity, we mean it! She was meticulous in commenting on water sources, letting hikers behind us know exactly what the hydration situation was. We continued our binge watch of Tiger King as we pigged out on delicious calorie-rich food from Heaven Hill Farm. Speaking of Hummingbird...

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