Day 3, Mile 27.1, Payne Gap. A nondescript flat spot in the woods without much to recommend about it. Other than the tentsite was flat. And I found the Holy Grail of bear bagging rocks. Perfect mass for heaving over tree limbs. No sharp edges. Just felt good in my hand. I got attached. I couldn’t leave it. So I broke the first rule of ultra-light hiking. I packed out a rock.

Ten miles later, my husband brought me an Ursack and just like that, bear bagging is over.