My sleeping pad is officially busted. I woke up and re-inflated about 4 times last night… so needless to say, it wasn’t a very restful night. With that, I was actually the first one out of the tent this morning, which hasn’t happened yet until today.
However, even with the not so great sleep, we did our longest mile day yet… 20.3 miles, and it ended with a tough climb up Pond Flats. We considered stopping for the day at the Laurel Fork Shelter, but it was still a little early, and we really wanted to get that climb out of the way before morning. Highlights of the day included an old barn, and Laurel Falls.
I apologize for the short post, but I’m very tired due to the bad sleep and long day. Casey is letting me use her pad tonight, and I think we got my pad kind of patched up for her for the night. It’s very nice of her to let me use her pad for the night, but honestly, she just wants me to sleep so I don’t keep waking her up with all my sleeping pad problems. We’ll get this solved in just a few days when we reach Damascus.
I take it you didn’t bring a repair kit? To,find the leak you need to inflate it and put it under water and find the bubbles. Best way to do it on the trail. No repair kit? Ask some of your fellow hikers! Someone is apt to have the tape needed.
We do have a repair kit, but the leak is at the mouthpiece, not on the actual pad, so the patch kit won’t work. Plus, a few baffles have broken making the pad pretty uncomfortable when it is fully inflated. I’m going to check and see if Nemo will be able to do anything, but I think a new pad is in my future.