(Daily Mi: 15.4) First 15 + mile hike today! Passed over Route 70 on the AT pedestrian bridge (no one honked). Had lunch at a grim shelter just north of the highway. Intended to stop at a campsite 10 miles on but found the place depressing (also found a note from Bill indicating he had pressed on). It was only 2:30 pm when I reached the campsite, and although I was already tired, I had plenty of time to hike another five miles. About two miles on I worried that I had made a mistake as I found myself scrambling across an exposed ridge in a sudden storm. There was no place to seek cover, so I just kept moving. The storm, however, was as brief as it was sudden and lifted just as I cleared the ridge leaving me a little damp but far from soaked.

Another new shelter and big, which was good because there were ten people in and another four tents pitched nearby (none of them on very flat ground). Bill and Piper were in again. This is Bill's last night on the Trail. He is meeting a friend at a roadhead tomorrow. Rocky and Thor came in near dark and pitched one of the tents. I also met three more hikers out of Harpers Ferry: Choo Choo, Commander and Scout. Everyone was very friendly.