Day 15: April 12, 2022
AT mile 172.3 to 183.7
Hiked: 11.7 miles / 18.8 km
AT miles hiked to date: 8.4%

It wasn’t long after settling to bed that it started to rain, initially just light and intermittent but progressed to a heavy consistent downpour which continued all night. It was still pouring when we woke and we didn’t know what to expect for the day so we packed up anyway and headed straight on down the trail. The trail itself was a muddy creek – easy to follow but slippery. Very soon our feet were sloshing in wet shoes and our rain pants were splattered with mud. Reminded us of boggy Tasmanian trails.

At the first shelter we came to we stopped for a breakfast snack and 3 miles on at the next shelter we had another short break. Someone had phone reception and checked the forecast. It was supposed to continue to rain with likely thunderstorms but clearing by 3 pm. We hurried down the trail another 3 miles, reaching a shelter where smoke was pouring out of the chimney. Given we had completed 11 miles without major incident, we decided to call it a day and we enjoyed the warmth of the fire for the best part of the afternoon until the sun did finally peep through.

We will have a longer day tomorrow so hope at least that the morning is clear for our start.