Mile 556.6
Elevation 2,500
Miles Hiked 12.8
I left the Relax Inn at 9:30 and headed out in a light drizzle. That was pretty much the story for the entire day. The trail was up and down again. The greatest elevation gain was 1,200 feet and a 900 foot gain came right after it. Some parts of the trail had water streaming down the trail, because of all the rain.
One exciting part of the hike was crossing a farmer’s cattle herd. A big bull kept an eye on me and followed as I crossed the pasture. I ignored him and he eventually left me alone.
As the afternoon progressed into evening, the rain was picking up. Another hiker, Ghost, told me about a new hostel. Sounded good to me. Unfortunately I didn’t have the hostel number, but as I came out of the woods, Ghost was there with Mack, the hostel owner, so I grabbed a ride – for about half a mile, which is when Mack’s car just shut off. We ended up pushing the car off the road and walking to a house about 1/4 of a mile away where Mack called his wife to pick us up.
All the drama was worth it, though. The hostel is spotless and warm, and Ghost and I are the only ones here. We washed our clothes and then Mack’s wife had a delicious ham and dumpling dinner ready. We finished dinner with an apple pie. All is right with the world.
