8.7 miles

Carter Gap shelter (mile 93.3) to Long Branch shelter (mile 102)

Geared up to cross the 100 mile mark today! It was at the top of Albert mountain. And Albert was a bit mean. It started gently enough, the trail hugged a ridge line with a pretty impressive drop to one side. Then there were a lot of stairs. Then it got a bit stupid and turned into more of a puzzle than a hike. There would be a white blaze on a rock and you would then have to figure out how to get past it. There was a lot of hand over hand climbing. Only to be met with another blaze on another random rock. “How the fu…”

After doing this for what seemed an eternity I finally made it to the top and the view was pretty damn spectacular.

100 miles done! Boom.

I stayed at Long Branch shelter that night. It was a nice new shiny shelter, having only been built in 2012. There was a couple of hikers there and we chatted amiably over dinner (mashed potato and spam).

It got a bit loud when a group of college kids on spring break turned up at around 6. They all had the same tents, and backpacks etc and we joked that they were part of a cult. A loud, annoying, cult.

Again it was freezing when the sun started to go down, so straight into bed to try and maintain some semblance of warmth.