June 18

No problems last night in the shelter.  It was nice and cool, just the way I like it but the skies are overcast.  I'll get going around 7 this morning.

The trail is no different than yesterdays.  It consists of muddy bogs that sometimes have small streams of water running through them that I must maneuver around.  It's a royal pain.

It's starting to rain.  I may be stuck here at the Melville Nauheim Shelter for a while.  I don't feel like walking in the rain right now. OK the rain has stopped and the sun is out.  Time to hike......

I usually hike between 1.5 to 2 miles per hour.  On steep inclines that drops considerably.  If there is little elevation gain or loss and the trail isn't to rocky I can manage between 2 and 3 miles per hour.  At 3 to 3.5 miles per hour you're walking at a good swift pace which is hard to keep doing in long stretches.  Any more than 3.5 miles per hour and, at least for me, your practicality jogging which is very tiring, risky and dangerous, especially with 30 to 35 lbs on your back. I've seen some of these younger guys doing just that at times, but they risk falling and injuring themselves.  Besides when you hike that fast you see nothing but the ground in front of you so what's the point.

Made it to Story Spring Shelter by 7 pm a 12 hour day.  I'm now at mile 1630.0 after having done 23.3 long miles today through mud puddle after mud puddle. 

I set up my tent.  There's a family of 5 in the shelter.  I signed the logbook, talked to them for a while, and went to bed....I'm tired.