June 21, 2004 - Slept okay, but I broke one of my tent poles. I fixed it with duct tape so all’s good. Got an early start, because I had a 3000 ft climb right off the bat, so I wanted it to be nice and cool. Had a great hike. My ankle was feeling great until after 10 miles where I hit a rock with my foot causing great pain so I took a break and felt better but not like it did this morning. Then a nice downhill to Pedlar Dam at 960 ft. My ankle started hurting again so I took another small break by the lake. All that was left was 2 climbs up to 4000 ft, Bald Knob and Cold Mtn. Bald Knob just killed me, very steep and long. Then just a short downhill before heading up Cold Mtn where at the top it was very cold and foggy. First time I hadn’t seen a view for some time. Met a church group at the top who were camping at the bottom. I decided to camp there as well since it looked like rain. Good thing I did because it began to rain soon after I pitched my tent. Had a good time talking with the church group. Then bedtime. 26 miles for the day even thought I was trying for 33 but I was going to the shelter 21 miles out of Waynesboro so a 26/28 was better than 33/21.
