Miles: 12.6
I did NOT want to get up this morning. My head hurt, my body was sore, my leg was sunburned... ick... what a bad start. The only saving grace was that we were still in town and could get a good breakfast and COFFEE. Yes. That's definitely what I needed.
We slowly packed up and headed over to the general store / diner. After 2 eggs, sausage, toast, hashbrowns and a couple of cups of java, I was feeling better.
We started hiking, sweating out all of last night's party. It was slow going, but we finally made it to Thistle Hill Shelter for a break. Again, we planned a 16-mile day, but quickly realized we weren't up to it. The terrain wasn't bad - just a lot of ups and downs over hills. It threatened to rain, but the clouds, thankfully, never opened up on us. Sunshine and I were hurting today, so we just took it slowly... we were aiming for the Big Red Barn.
We walked through more beautiful fields, through freaky tree replanting areas (no undergrowth and trees growing in staight lines weirded me out) and through farmlands to get here. Luckily, there was a bit of Trail Magic waiting for us at the end - cold soda. It felt so good. We made it to the barn, sore and cranky, but happy that this guy lets hikers stay at his place. He put some mattresses on the floor and gave us a radio and lights - we're good to go. We listened to some good oldies (only decent channel we could pick up) and chilled with the smells of fresh cut hay and machine equipment oil lingering in the room. I might even have to spoil myself tomorrow with a shower at the outside stall he built!
- Bobo in Recovery