It was not an early morning for us. We only plan to hike thirteen miles for the next three days, so we didn’t feel much pressure about getting on the trail quickly. Farmer Tim passed our site sometime after 9a and said, “Late start, huh?” Yep. Late start. It was almost 10a when we left.
We didn’t have too hard of a day, but the hills seemed incredibly difficult this morning. Everyone except Kirby was dragging. Kirby just flew. We didn’t see him again until the end of the day. The rest of us took lots of breaks – too many breaks. We moved sloth-like slow today. But it also felt kind of good. I blame the heat. It got into the 80’s. That’s not too hot considering what’s coming up. However, it is one of the hottest days we’ve had so far. Plus we were in an eight mile section without water, so we had to be careful to stay stocked. Which means lots of water weight.
We ate lunch at the side of a road. As we were finishing up, Lotus pointed and yelled, “Bear!” Sure enough, a little cub was bounding across the mountain. Momma bear was no where in site. I watched the cub stretch and bounce his way towards the trail. When he got to the clearing, he finally saw us. We were probably 100 or more feet away. He stopped, sat for a second, and then turned and ran as fast as he could up the mountain. You know, right where we had to go next. We kept a good eye out, but didn’t see any more bear for the rest of the day. However, just up the trail we did see a deer. I think it’s one of my first deer sightings on this trail so far. We stopped at the shelter briefly, about four miles from camp. Outside of it was a sign warning people of increased bear activity. Later, as we hiked, Warthog saw a rat snake. It was about four feet long. I was able to get photos of that animal encounter!
The day ended with a gentle decline through the woods. At one point I stopped, closed my eyes and just enjoyed the summer-like air. It instantly transported me home to our patio, or the lake, or time at an open air restaurant. Lately, I’m realizing I’m hiking 2,190 miles in order to be transported home. I feel blessed to have so many memories of loved ones and places to carry with me on this trip.
It was kind of late when we got into camp. Near it is a river. Most of us chose to wash off the sweat of the day in the river. The water was cold, but luckily it wasn’t frigid. I went up to mid calf and splashed the water onto me. Warthog only went mid foot deep. It was a long day and we are all still tired. We quickly got to setting up camp and making dinner. Then bed. There are talks of maybe hitching in to Dairy Queen tomorrow. It seems to bring hope to the group. Warthog included.
– ansel