Overshoot

April 11, 2025

Turner’s Gap/CrossTrails Hostel

Mile 1044.1

It’s been raining all day, and cold at night to the point that I’m pushing the limits of the gear I have on hand. It feels weird to think that most of my hiking experience has been in the rain so far. I think that heat would be far worse, but the light flooding and mud on the trail is still a bit hard to navigate. I thought I’d hate hiking in the rain, but even with its difficulties, it hasn’t been too bad so far. It’s not always fun to pack up and start while it’s raining, but the during hiking part has been ok, at least during this stretch of weather.

I had aspirations to bag another two-shelter day today, and I came close. I made it to Rocky Run shelter in good time, but I still felt strong, so I pressed forward a few more miles to the Dahlgren Backpacking Campground near Turner’s Gap, which was supposed to have bathrooms and a spigot with potable water. But when I got there, the tent sites were all mud and wide, wet puddles. The bathrooms were still closed for the season, and the water was not really flowing.  It was already close to 5–I wouldn’t make it to the next shelter before nightfall, and I balked at the idea of walking back south To Rocky Run. Ended up calling for a shuttle from Turner’s Gap to a hostel for the night, and deciding on the way to wait out the rainstorms next day and start in clear weather on the following day. Maybe it’s getting easier to decide when discretion is the better part of valor.