FKT: Andrew Piotrowski - Appalachian Trail through Michaux State Forest (PA) - 2021-11-13

I am training for my first 100miler and I wanted to give this route a shot as a training run. I had my mother In-law drop Me off at RT16 in Waynesboro and I got running right at 6am. Michaux is absolutely beautiful and the route passes over or past many ridges, creek crossing, and shelters.The night before I had a large debate around what to pack given the “perfect for hypothermia” forecast. I ended up packing some additional safety gear such as a light puffy, lots of orange (hunting season), small SOL bivy, spare socks, tights, and I switched my wind breaker to a hard shell. It pushed my pack over 12lbs. However I am very happy I did. Around mile 17 the rain started falling and with temps in the lower 40s things got cold fast. I ended up running 10+miles in heavy rain and I even got snowed on a bit near there Birch Run Shelter. The rain finally stopped as I got close to Pine Grove furnace and I was able to switch into my dry layers. I filtered water throughout the course and carried very little with me. After some fast miles on familiar trails I passed the Tag Run Shelter and met my wife and infant at Pine Grove Road. Great day in the woods! My miles came in slightly different which I attest to GPS accuracy, the route is very simple to follow.