Total Miles: 957.7
I woke up to a flat air mattress this morning. I'm hoping this was caused by an open valve and not a hole somewhere. I can't imagine having to replace this thing. I packed up and started towards Bake Oven Knob and the Knife Edge. I expected a lot more of the Knife Edge. It was supposed to be a narrow rocky trail with steep drop offs on both sides, or that's how the NOBOs made it sound at least. It was, overall, very short and not very dramatic.
I stopped at the Blue Mountain B&B at a road crossing to fill up on water. This might not have been the best idea. The spigot was underneath a dryer vent, and I still haven't been able to get the taste of fabric softener out of my water bottle.
I took a break at the Allentown Hiking Club Shelter, and overall it was a very nice shelter. It was well maintained, and there was a checkerboard painted on the floor. There was one problem though - it was infested with stink bugs! They were everywhere. I was happy that I wasn't staying here tonight.
The remainder of the day was mostly flat and rocky, as was expected. I made it to the shelter, which is located on a road and has a caretaker on the property, but the caretaker wasn't there. He showed up after dark and told me the shelter was technically closed because of the shutdown, but it was ok if I stayed. He even gave me a cold soda. This was the first time I thought about how the government shutdown might affect my hike. I'm supposed to be going through the Shenandoah National Park in a few hundred miles, and I don't know what I'll do if it's closed. For now, I'll take things day by day. That's all I can do at this point.
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