Found out another person did come in last night. Pick of the Litter is an AT and PCT through hiker that was about to have a men's retreat at the hostel that weekend. We had a good chat about hiking. He grew up nearby and had local tips.
On the way out I passed the ruins of the blast furnace the park is named for. They used it to make iron in 1764.
Left late to force myself to take a shorter day. Quiet, foggy, and damp hiking in the morning and the trail was relatively flat.
I crossed some train tracks and found someone who was out there just waiting around. He said he's part of a Facebook group that takes train pictures. I saw at least 3 people out snapping photos when I took the train from DC to Harpers Ferry so maybe that explains that.
At slightly over halfway I stopped at Green Mountain General Store and Deli for the Friday fish and chips special. Great to have "real" food. Also nice to have hot meals that don't use up my fuel.
Sat on the porch and had a coffee while updating my notes. Definitely feeling some soreness in my left leg with notable swelling at the ankle. A shorter day was the right choice.
The remaining hiking for the day crossed some really rocky ridges that were a little bit of a scramble.
Saw two groups of deer today. They run when startled and sometimes startle me too. You just see white tails bobbing through the trees.
It wasn't clear there was a good water source at the next shelter and I definitely planned to stay there with the rain today and tonight. I filled up at Whiskey Spring (no whiskey to be found) and carried it 2 miles or so uphill to the shelter. Crossed a stream about 1/4 mile out so that was silly.
Made it Alec Kennedy shelter which had a cool side bunk layout.
Sparticus arrived after I had finished dinner and was getting ready to call it a night. He's a through hiker that started at Springer this year and did every bit of trail so far. This included the icy Smoky Mountains and dangerous sections of trail where Helene and later ice storm damaged huge swaths of forest. We looked at pictures of his trip, very impressive.