Errata: I just fixed dates on some of my previous posts.

Errata: I just fixed dates on some of my previous posts. The last two photos for 29 June actually belonged here under 30 June, so are repeated.

30 June.
From: Garfield Ridge shelter
To: Guyot shelter
Mileage: 5.5
Weather: Sunny, mild, humid

Most of the other hikers were out of the shelter early. Penguin and I stopped on the way out to refill our water.

Our hopes for easier hiking were shattered immediately. Descending from Garfield we looked down a steep cliff of blocky rocks with a stream cascading down, with merry white AT blazes on trees alongside. It was slippery, scary and very slow going first thing in the morning. At least there were no bodies of the previous hikers on the rocks, so we knew it could be done, and we did.

There was more rocky trail, then a steep climb of South Twin Mountain. We stopped at AMC's Galehead hut, where I used my thruhiker pass for a free bowl of delightful potato dill soup and rested briefly.

The trail was relatively level after the peak and we tagged along with a section hiking couple Donna and Gene, but became a walk across a rock field as the clouds blew over the ridge. Penguin said she could only go another five miles, as she was having pain trying to take a full breath. The only options were Zealand Falls hut at five miles or Guyot shelter, which was one mile off the AT. We agreed on Guyot, because I also wanted to avoid a possible afternoon storm.

We were the first at Guyot shelter for the night as it was early afternoon, though there was a pair of hikers resting, one recovering from heat exhaustion. We ate and rested, but were joined by many other weekend hikers later, and the shelter was crowded for the night.