Tent platforms are great because they minimize impact to the environment and people with freestanding tents can place a tent or two on them with no problem. My tent isn’t freestanding. It’s supported by stakes, cord, and a hiking pole in the middle. And setting it up on a tent platform is like a spider trying to build a web in the middle of briar patch. There’s lots of spots I can tie to and none of them work just right.

The corners of my tent no longer appear to be water-tight. At least, the streams of water pouring into my tent seem to be implying that the seam-sealer has failed. The rain had been falling for 2 hours now and I have been bailing with my pack towel every 30 minutes. The good news is that the worst of the leak doesn’t effect me much. The water runs right past me to puddle in the corner. Let’s see how wet I get tonight.

The plans with Joe are a bit uncertain. I am not sure at this time whether he’s available tomorrow night, so I just arranged a pick up with Heather in Kent, CT at 5pm tomorrow. She going to come get me once she’s finished teaching. I get to hike 22 miles and take a day off at home. Sounds absolutely wonderful to me!

It was a nice day of hiking again, but yet again I feel tired. I didn’t have any spring in my step, I hiked with Condor all day and Einstein as well in the morning. We took breaks at a deli, a shelter, and Nuclear Lake (don’t ask), so it was a relaxing day overall.

Tomorrow I leave NY, and enter the 50 mile stretch of the AT through CT. It is rumored to be mosquito-filled, but I can deal with that for 2 days.

Looking forward to a zero day at home with Heather & Tally. It should be easy to get up and get rolling, even if my gear is all wet.