Day 41

Yesterday proved to be a fluke. I was back to being the last one up this morning. I even managed to take it a step further. By the time I woke up and left the hammock, second breakfast and rocket were long gone. Viking left before I had packed my bag and the section hikers left as I was getting ready to start making breakfast (Nutella and peanut butter on a very stale bagel).

But I knew it was only 10 miles today and there was, again, no need to rush. So I sat around eating my breakfast and generally enjoying a quiet morning for a while before I finally headed off into the trees. 

The morning did not start the way that I hoped. For the first three miles, my knee let me know that it was upset with me. It didn’t hurt, per se, but it definitely didn’t feel good. I had tried to walk with a slightly less supportive brace yesterday and I think that may have irritated it. So I moved slowly. Watching each step, but still enjoying the walk and the scenery. 

I then made it to the river. We had been warned that today we would have to “ford a river” that was “typically no more than waist deep.” I’d been somewhere between excited and nervous about this when I heard about it. But as I got closer to the river and the sound of water reached my ears, I was mostly nervous. I didn’t want to end up as the cautionary tale of the guy who was swept away by the river never to be seen again.

But when I rounded the corner and saw it, I nearly burst out laughing. This river that was “typically no more than waist deep” was at most waist height for a small corgi. For a fully grown human, it was about ankle height. I kicked off my shoes and walked through. Making it to the other side where second breakfast, Viking and the section hikers were sitting around eating second breakfast. 

I joined them and went through another round of stretching. I don’t know which stretch it was, but something I did there seemed to do the trick. Leaving second breakfast, I was on a tear. I bounded up the 2,000 foot climb as if it wasn’t there. I felt great.

When I found myself all alone at the top of a massive bald with 360 degree views, I did something I’ve never done before. I yelled out to the world and let it echo back to me. And I get why people yell now. I spent the next 2 miles to camp with music bumping in my headphones and singing out loud at whatever volume felt right. 

Camp feels like the best way to describe today. It truly felt like we had a summer camp set up. Giddy Up had a frisbee with him so we tossed that around for a while before setting up a fantastic campfire. We sat around chatting with our normal group, Adventurine, First Light, Giddy Up, Yuper (who I hadn’t seen in weeks!), overshoot and a few others whose names I didn’t catch. Everyone was in a great mood.

Best part about it, however, is that tonight’s camp is on top of a mountain and faces east. It looks over a valley and apparently has a legendary view of the sunrise. 6 or 7 of us decided to “cowboy camp” it. We’ve set up our sleeping bags on the ground with no tent giving us the best view of the sun as it comes up. 

Key stats:

Miles: 10

Elevation gained: 3000 ft

Mile marker: 570

Minutes spent staring at a bunny: 10