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Day 5: Neels Gap to Low Gap Shelter
I was the first to wake up that day, a little before 8 AM. I had finally slept in and got a decent night of sleep. I tiptoed to use the bathroom and proceeded back into my sleeping bag to text family, post on Instagram, and check my email. Still, no one was awake and my stomach began to grumble. I tiptoed back out into the kitchen area to eat breakfast- Pop Tarts, peanut butter, and Powerade. I changed into my hiking clothes and decided to wash my other pair of underwear in the sink. I planned to hang it off my pack to dry. Last night, I had washed the other pair and let it dry next to the heater along with my socks.
I hesitantly opened the door not wanting to get yelled at again and asked the girl if I could bring my pack in because I wanted someone to take a look at it. She let me bring it in and said Jason would be able to help me. Jason had told me to put my pack on how I normally would and he carefully inspected the pack. On longer days, I was getting severe neck pain, making it unbearable to look straight down – a problem I had experienced once before. I was wearing the Gossamer Gorilla 40 ultralight backpack in a size medium and a small hip belt size. This bag only weighed 29.8 oz. Prior to my trip, I had contemplated getting a new bag because my winter gear just barely fit. I ended up getting a new sleeping bag, Joule 21 because my dad’s North Face Cat’s Meow was too bulky and not properly fitted for me.
It was already 10:15 AM, which felt so late to me. I had to hike 11.5 miles yet to Low Gap shelter. By the time I was ready to head out, Wrong Way was still there. He said it’ll take 6 hours to hike and he had plenty of time to still make it.



