When I first heard people moving in the shelter, it was still dark out. Knowing that we had a long day ahead, the group of section hikers who were in the shelter the previous night had planned to start hiking early in the morning, getting up around 5 and getting on the trail at 5:30. …

I woke up, having slid to one end of my tent, the side further from the trail. I packed up my tent and sleeping bag, leaving my sleeping pad out. I took down my bear bag, sat on my sleeping mat, and made oatmeal and coffee for breakfast. I changed into my other pair of …