Who the Hell Invented Rain

• Today I traveled 9.5 miles with 4452 feet of ascent and 2943 feet of descent.
• I took an unexpected zero in Bethel yesterday since the forecast for the day was supposed to be stormy all day and the next section features the Mahoosuc Notch, “the hardest mile of the AT”, and the Mahoosuc arm, one of the steepest sections of the AT. So I thought it’d be best to wait for better weather.
• Well turns out the forecast can be wrong and I spent my day off in turn watching the sun chill in the sky for most of the day. The rain planned for yesterday must’ve gotten delayed and it ended up raining today while I was hiking
• The Mahoosuc Notch lived up to the hype. The mile stretch consisted of a field of the biggest boulders I’ve seen yet on trail that I had to traverse. There was even 2 sections were I had to take of my pack to for through right gaps in the rock. It was super engaging and unique. I was a big fan. It ended up taking me an hour and 25 minutes to get through.
• The rain kept coming and the temperature dropped into the low 50s. I was getting cold and the rain wasn’t letting up so I decided to end my day early at a shelter I passed. I didn’t want to set my tent up in the cold rain, so I had my first experience sleeping in a lean to.
• Arriving at the Lean-to by myself, I sat there cold and completely soaked and had a bit of a dark night of the soul moment where I wondered what the hell I was doing out here. A chance into dry clothes, a hot dinner and sitting in my sleeping bag help fix that.
• Definitely the toughest conditions I’ve had on trail yet, but it’s all part of the journey!

Peace!