Lucky me, nothing but rain in the forecast the next 4 days. Kept waking up in the middle of the night for some reason. Got all packed up and headed out into the rain. Nothing but a climb to get back up in the mountains. After a couple miles, I was hovering the tops again. The fog covered up a lot of the views. I ran into a girl going north bound, not sure if she was doing a section or what. Was nice to run into someone, knowing I’m not the only one out here. Later on I was able to me make it over Max Patch. I was trying to race the dark, so I started running on the down hills. 1 it feels easier on my knees. 2 make some solid time. As I was running I jumped on a slippery rock and did a huge face plant. My arm hit hard with my pack landing on me. Instantly went numb, I was just nervous if it was broken. I carried my arm close to my body like it was in a sling. Hoping that would help. The bleeding eventually stopped. Had one more solid climb up and back down to the valley where I planned on staying at Standing Bear Hostel. After a half hour of night hiking, I hit the road to the hostel. Next to the road was a beautiful stream, couldn’t see it cause the night. It sounded quite important and I couldn’t wait to see it in the morning. I got into the bunkhouse for the hikers and just sat down on a chair by the wood stove. No one else was there, which was a bummer cause this hostel was awesome. They had a resupply store and had virtually everything you would ever need. I was brutally in pain after hiking in the rain all day today and the previous days. My feet were breaking down and it didn’t help I only drank 1 liter for the last 25 MILES. Yes, that was really stupid, but I really didn’t want to stop and purify water in the rain. Met a kid that has been working for the hostel for about a year. He was an interesting character. Had funky hair color and he had been traveling the world. I think he was 21 and I think he has been to 19 countries. I was quite impressed. Rested with my feet in the air the rest of the night.
