From heat to hail

Made great miles into Salisbury with Will and we walked down to the oldest public library in the U.S. there. My friend Marlyse came with her newborn and treated me out to a delicious lunch in town, while we roasted outside. It has got to be 100 degrees, and tomorrow is supposed to be hotter!

When I hit the trail again, it was a hot for a bit, but clouds rolled in out of NO WHERE and it became cool. At first, this was a good sign, until quarter-sized hail started falling from the sky. It was kind of apocalyptic. Lightening was striking very close by and I knew the trail was about to go over some rocky exposed areas. Although I intended to hit the next shelter, I wasn’t about to risk going over Mt. Everett through that kind of weather.

The rain and wind were so intense that I took shelter behind a tree under my umbrella until it subsided a bit. I half set-up my tarp for my hammock, and then the rain hit again in full force, and I huddled under my partly set-up tarp. At that point, I swore that after I finish the AT, I’m not going to spend anymore time in the outdoors ever. Then, I realized how much fun I’d had hiking earlier that day. By the time the rain stopped and I set up my tarp and hammock beautifully, my mood changed yet again, and I was ready to take on the next adventure.