CT Day 2: Pike National Forest

Daily Miles: 16.9, Total Miles: 36.1

An early start with sunny skies, climbed about 1,000 ft to another ridge and passed through a large, old burn.

I conveniently refilled water bottles at the North Fork Volunteer Fire Department.

Back into the forest for another ten miles before getting stopped cold by a thunderstorm. Lightning, hail and a cloudburst finale. Got my rain jacket on but by the time I found cover under trees, I was drenched. The stream I was next to rose quickly and started overflowing the banks. After several minutes, the intensity finally lessened and I continued on knowing that the Meadows CG was nearby. Marched directly to the CG outhouse and stripped off my wet clothes and put on dry shorts and down jacket.

With still heavy cloud cover and being wet and chilly, I got the tent up and crawled under my quilt. Some nice campers invited me for dinner but I wasn’t budging. This will likely be the weather pattern for awhile. The key will be getting an early start and get some miles in before the skies open up.

I did see a number of deer, plentiful squirrels and a lone grouse today. I may have seen my first fellow thru-hikers at a road crossing but they were gabbing so I just said hi and kept moving.