Today was the first difficult day on trail. It was windy, raining steadily, and cold all day. The actual hike was pretty brutal. However, that made it a lot more rewarding as we all started rolling into camp and were able to bond over how awful it was. My friend Britches (that’s their trail name) and I quickly set up our tents so they wouldn’t get gross sitting wet in our bags. My fingers were barely working while I was doing this because of how cold they were from the hike. Then I immediately hopped in the shelter with my quilt and pad next to my friend Travis. I ate a hot lunch in there to warm up, then basically napped and hung out under my quilt to stay warm until the rain stopped and I could take the rest of my stuff to my tent. Even in the shelter it was still pretty cold and damp, but we were all dealing with it together.

The rain did stop around 7:00 pm or so, and the mood rose so quickly. When the sun made a brief appearance just in time for a beautiful sunset, we literally cheered. The mood was so happy and goofy, and it was only able to be that way because of how awful the conditions had been earlier.