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| June
12 , 1981 Friday From Gonzo!s Appalachian
Trail journal Got up at 5:30am – not quite light yet. For once, everyone else got up also, except Charlie. Charlie decided to not hike 22 miles with us today. Well, we are not hiking 22 miles today either. We only went about 13 or fourteen. Rained when we first started this morning. I left before Chuck & Bruce and passed Pat a little ways up the trail. First we stopped at Jerry’s Cabin shelter for a break before pushing on to Locust Ridge shelter. Only took me about two hours and 17 minutes to make it to Jerry’s cabin seven miles away. Those miles are shorter than Georgia miles it seems, but we walked on jeep road for several miles. Road walking on dirt is very nice. Went a little overboard and had two snickers and two pop tarts today and also peanut buttered crackers. Sat and waited at Jerry’s (a nice place) for the rest to show. At that point we had to decide whether to go on or not. We had decided against it, and just as we did it started to sprinkle, but it quit in a few minutes. Somehow we decided to continue on to the next shelter. Waded through some tall plants today during the rain, and got my upper legs wet as well as my feet. Feet were not totally soaked though. Rained on and off all afternoon; however, not very hard at any time. Locust Ridge shelter was kind of grungy, but not a whole lot different than the rest. Got there about twelve forty-five. At two forty-one it is sunny , but thunder is heard in the distance. Will it ever make up it’s mind? Locust Ridge was supposed to be in need of repair according to trail register notes at Jerry’s Cabin shelter, but I believe they have already been done. Seems fairly watertight, and the top/roof of the outhouse is on, contrary to the notes. No door though, but a terrific view. Bruce and Chuck took showers again using the springwater. Had a Lipton noodle dinner – beef flavor for dinner. Everyone slept a bit in the afternoon except me because I have been having problems sleeping at night, and especially in the morning due to back pains, so I did not sleep in the afternoon. Slept fairly well that night until awakened by some sort of growling noise outside of the shelter around two a.m. or so. Then later a dog woke us up, and scared us by dragging part of a chain he had broken loose from, resulting in rustling noises as it passed amongst the leaves.
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