Seeing as I had a real bed for the night, I made a genuine effort to sleep in. I made it to 6:30 before giving up and getting dressed. Pockets and I rode bikes down to the local cafe (the Saufleys have loaner bikes to ride into town). There we met Brian (??? - sorry I'm terrible with names) from North Carolina. He comes out for a couple weeks each year and section hikes. The three of us had breakfast and chatted before I headed back to Hiker Heaven. Brian continued south, Pockets took a zero day, and around 10 I finally motivated myself to get back on the trail.
The trail was a roller coaster all day. First up 1600 feet, then down 1000, up 800, down 400, up 400, down 100, up 200. Still, despite the hills, the trail was made for logging miles. It was smooth gravel, free of obstructions, and none of the grades were too steep either way. With the late start I managed to knock out 24 miles before my feet begged me to stop for the day. I am camped at the Green Valley ranger station with another big uphill looming in the morning. However, I am coming off the trail for a few days of rest as soon as I reach road N2 (31 more miles). I am also looking forward to crossing the 500 mile mark early in the day tomorrow!
On a fun note, the water source here is a fire hose, which was unattended and which I should probably not be allowed to come within ten feet of. Still, it was fun to play with. Also, I have included some pictures of the setup at Hiker Heaven.
