It was a rough morning. Yesterday’s late afternoon leg strain was a full blown shin splint this morning. Very sore with shooting pains as I stepped on each uneven rock. Progress was slow but ibuprofen and podcasts nursed me along. I didn’t take many pics as I just had my head down concentrating on what was underfoot.

I finally took a well deserved rest at this fine shelter. Unfortunately, the water source was a 1/2 mile downhill. Luckily, someone had left a gallon jug to spare me the trip. This was one of the longest stretches we’ve had without a water source directly on trail…it will be over 25 miles.

Although it was not as hot as yesterday, the mango smoothie hit the spot after I hitched into the town of Wind Gap mid afternoon.

The shower felt great and after doing my laundry (in the bathtub) the wind and sun made quick work drying everything out.

Hopefully, the extra rest today and ice will help the recovery. Unfortunately, I wound up walking a couple miles around town taking care of errands and town chores. I was able to order calf compression sleeves from Amazon that I’ll pick up on Tues. (I couldn’t find them at Kmart…no surprise) They should help out with recovery and prevention as well.