Last night the wind kept me up for the better part of the night. I read that the wind can gust up to 100 mph in these hills. Of course it wasn't that bad, but I would certainly say 60 mph. As a result I was pretty tired all day, which made the hike a tough one. I also realized I haven't taken a rest day for 11 straight days, which may be why my body feels so sluggish.
The roller coaster continued, and I lost track of elevation gain. Well over 3000 is all I know. The terrain is fairly blah, what with lots of scrub brush and not many views. I crossed the 500 mile marker, and in the picture you can see the terrain. Actually that is the old marker. With the frog detour I actually hit 500 about 14 miles earlier.
There was a 2200 foot gain over long and well groomed gravel trail. Lower in elevation it led past test mines (pictured). As the mountain rose, though, I got into some really gorgeous pine and black oak forest. That made the hike pleasant for a while. Shortly afterward there was supposed to be a campground. The camp was at mile 24 and my goal for the day was 20 or more, so I pushed on. Soon I passed a sign telling me the camp was half a mile behind me. There was no marked turn off or sign and I had missed it. I checked the guidebook and found the camp had no water anyway. The next water source was at my next road crossing, but when I got there the cistern was dry. I consulted the map and saw that Horse Camp Spring was 3 miles away. Here the trail to the spring was overgrown, and there was no water to be had. Well, that left the road I was supposed to get to tomorrow. Surely there would be a stream or water cache. I wrapped up a 31 mile day only to find a stagnating swamp whose water was barely good enough for wiping the grime off my feet. Worse, I had to road walk an extra 1.5 miles to get it. Fortunately I had enough in my water bottle to cook with and to last me the night. Tomorrow I come off the trail for a nice rest!
