We woke up late… again. Warthog and I packed out donuts to share with the group. It was a nice way to mix up our morning routine. In just the hour or so of us getting ready for the day, I found two ticks on Warthog. Both were imbedded, neither were engorged. Hopefully that’s a good sign. It made everyone do really good tick checks.
It didn’t take long before we hit the trail. Just after we got going we had a bear run out onto the path maybe twenty feet ahead of us. We spooked him, that’s why he ran. Then we sat and waited to give him space and saw him run back across to where he had just come from. We waited a bit again and then continued on.
We stopped just short of two miles down the trail at a shelter to use their facilities. It was an amazing shelter. There was even landscaping around it, a horse shoe pit, a solar shower, benches, chairs, and a pavilion. I would have loved to zero here, but we have a goal to get to. Maybe someday I’ll come back for a fun weekend.
It was Hike Naked Day. A day that is recognized all across the the U.S. and one I’ve been nervous for since I’ve found out about it. It has to do with the summer solstice I think. Some national parks were warning hikers not to strip down or they risk a ticket. I’m not sure you have too much to worry about if you are outside of a national park. Everyone on the trail seemed to be talking about it but in our 18.6 miles we didn’t come across any hikers who decided to go full monty. We did see some people in various stages of undress (down to their boxers, etc.), but no one brave enough to bare it all. I totally understand why.
It wasn’t a particularly exciting day. We breaked at a campsite and had lunch at a shelter. It was another late night into camp. We stayed near a river in the woods, just two miles short of the next shelter again (our original goal).
Tomorrow is a big day… we hit a lot of milestones. But before we do, tick checks.
-ansel