BMT/AT Figure 8 Day 33: Happily, Giddily Breaking the Rules
Day 33, Sunday, October 4, 2020
Mt. Collins Shelter to STEALTH SITE!!!!
Mile 356.5
Miles Hiked: 13.8
I finally succumbed to Rebel Roo who always lurks just beneath surface, looking for a moment to break bad, bend the rules, step out of bounds.
I set my sights on a stealth site someone mentioned on Guthooks and claimed it as my own for the night.
I love it when Guthooks users share useful information and wry observations.
TIP OF THE DAY
Here’s a hiking tip to put in your pocket: Read the fine print.
Rather than just relying on the “official” blurbs and pre-populated icons supplied by the Guthooks team, always read through the comments sections narrated by the hikers in the trenches.
That’s where you’ll learn about the hidden gems along the way.
Random soda machines.
Dens of copperheads.
Unofficial campsites frowned upon, no doubt, by square-jawed people in khaki colored uniforms.
That’s how I learned there was a flat spot in Ekaneetlee Gap near a small spring, behind a rhododendron bush, perfect for one tent. My tent.
SCORE!
A group of ladies with ENORMOUS packs were sitting on blankets in the gap when I arrived. They were taking a break and already passing around a pint of bourbon before heading up to the next shelter. More hikers came, collected water at the spring, and hiked on to Mollie’s Ridge Shelter.
Everyone had cleared out by five, but I still waited till dusk to pitch my tent, just in case a ranger came by and accused me of stealth camping.
Which, of course, I was.
Happily, giddliy breaking the rules.
