Obrien shelter - Nobo 1389

This post is from August 8, 2015.   The GPS tracking of this hike can be found at:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/865749648

Today may have been the single most difficult day on the AT so far for me terrain-wise. There seemed to be endless cliffs requiring total reliance on hands to ascend and descend. These were often high enough to make me afraid of losing my balance with the weight of the full pack and the extra caution I use for my artificial ankle.  Here are some shots of this terrain:

This spot is called Lemon Squeeze:

I honestly barely fit through with my pack!

This is looking ahead on the trail from Lemon Squeeze:

In any case I struggled through 22 miles of this today plus the total absence of running streams. Before reaching my waterless campsite I had to take the runoff from a swamp.l Last time I did this and only chemically treated the water I got diarrhea so I used my new mini filter first and then treated it and carried 3 liters 2 miles morec and stopped and camped at this shelter:

Today I met thru hikers FREESTYLE and COOKIE MONSTER. More on them later when it is easier to type.