(Daily Mi: 16.2) My winter bag was in the 8 a.m. post. Repacked in the P.O. lobby and mailed my summer bag home.

Couldn't catch a ride and ended up just walking to the trailhead. Patented AT, steep climb out of town. Rained all night. Really humid and getting ready to rain again this a.m. Does rain by the time I am fully up on the ridge.

Assumed Brother had left town ahead of me but a section hiker drying out at the 10 mile shelter says he didn't pass him.

Not a bad hike. Weather lifted but didn't clear by late afternoon. Big thickets of rhodedendra lining the Trail towards the end of the hike, an increasingly common feature.

In by myself. Wouldn't have minded seeing Brother, but otherwise just as happy for a little solitude. Tune NPR on my micro-headset. Cook dinner.<br />