Mile marker: 31.3 Miles today: 7.3
Hey All 😀
This is the day I made to Neel Gap! The first big milestone.
I woke up around 6 AM & packed camp in the rain. Started hiking around 7h30. That morning Puff told me she heard 4 big footsteps & sounds around the bear cables…probably a bear🐻 She heard the sounds a little before 5 AM…and I woke up about 15 minutes after to go to my business in the middle of the rain… with perhaps a bear that passed a little before🤷♀️
We started hiking in the rain & got to see the sunrise as we hiked.
We made it to Blood Mountain by 10h20. It was beautiful up there.
We arrived at Neel Gap at 11h55.
Apparently, close to a quarter of hikers who attempt to thru hike decide to quit by the time they get to mile 31.3 or Neel Gap.
Some physical therapists where there when we arrived. I got them to look at my right feet for wich I started having some pain on top. This wasn’t new since I did experience it in the past. They recommended that I taped the top of it with KT tape & that I wear my compression socks to help with circulation.
So far, it works!!
At Neel’s, I decided to send back home 2.5 pounds worth of items. One of them was my small razor…I decided to let some comfort go in order to reduce the weight on my back & legs.