The day started with a walk along the James River Foot bridge (built specifically for the AT).

Must be at least 500′ long!
More clouds and fog.
There are definitely some good views out there somewhere.

A tranquil brook at the end of the day.

Based on this blog post things look fairly similar to most days…but it was very different. This was the first morning I woke up and had no energy. Considering, the first 4 miles were pretty much flat I knew I’d be in for long day, especially with 3500′ of climbing just ahead. I dragged up the climb, legs heavy and no drive in my step. I tried to shake it off but no luck. I had lost my appetite too. I stopped at a shelter ~13 miles at 1:30 and took a long break…even a nap when the sun popped out for a bit. I finally pushed off at 2:45 for the final 10 miles on relatively easy terrain. Things got progressively worse as my stomach was gurgling. Needless to say there were a lot of pit stops,,,Brown Blazing as its called out here. My energy levels were even lower but I really wanted to camp at the shelter ..if for no other reason than the privy. I have never had so many people pass me on one day. About 5 miles from the shelter I hitched my wagon to Polar Bear and found a 2nd wind (actually a 1st wind today!). It was a long day on the trail: 6:45am-7:45pm. Hopefully things are feeling better tomorrow 🙂