It was definitely hot today. The only forecast I could get said it was supposed to be 92 but they were measuring only 89. It felt hotter than 90.

Even in the morning it wasn’t exactly cool but at least it was bearable. I can’t even get in the sleeping bag at night it’s so warm. I did manage to stop sweating around midnight though.

I got a later start and didn’t actually start hiking until after 7:00 I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to hike full speed today with the heat but at least right now it’s partially overcast skies so it’s not too hot yet. The weather app says it’s 78 but I think it’s hotter than that already.

The first few hours of the morning are mostly trail hiking with just short road walks to connect them together. The first excitement of the day is hiking through the small town of Richland. They have one bar but it is far too early for it to be open.

But even cooler than that I saw two Amish buggies on the way into town. The first one was an enclosed type that you normally think of with the whole family inside. The second one was an open garage with two girls driving it. Both buggies were friendly and waved back.

I’ve been seeing bizarre scratches on the road surface for the last few days and was wondering what caused it. I thought maybe it had to do with snowmobiles or some kind of winter thing around here. But nope I’m pretty sure it’s horse hooves scratching the pavement. I learned something new today.

After leaving the town the trail follows a creek. I had already filled up at the creek that was only an hour after where I camped so I was full. I also took the opportunity to wash the shirt I was wearing yesterday so I can use it for tomorrow. It has been hanging on the back of my pack drying as I walked down the road.

There weren’t too many meadows to walk through so my feet have stayed dry all morning. But by 9:00 the heat and the humidity have me completely drenched. It feels like noon. Luckily I am in woods for most of the walk but I still have to use my umbrella even in the woods to shade me from the sun that peaks through.

I took my lunch break on some really nice benches at a distributed campsite. A section hiker came walking by and asked if I was through hiking. We talked for about 10 minutes and then she moved on in the opposite direction. This is the first bonafide section hiker I have seen in at least a week. I still haven’t seen any others hikers that I could identify. I’ve only seen five people that head backpacks on period.

The place where I am to stop at for water this afternoon doesn’t look promising by the comments in the guidebook. It sounds like a swampy mess. I find a campsite only a mile off the trail and decide I will go there to try and get some snacks and water.

By the time I leave the official trail to go to the campground I have about 1 liter of water left. That means I have used two and a half liters since 8:00 this morning. This campground will be the last water that I am able to get until lunch time tomorrow. I will need to fill up everybody having potentially even buy another one.

When I get to the campground and go to the store, assign on the door says it is only open Friday Saturday and Sunday. Oh crap today is Monday. I will see the campground in the direction to return to the trail and find a picnic table near an outlet and a water spigot. I fill all my bottles there and begin charging my phone and battery. I drink as much water as I can tolerate and keep refilling the bottle. I want to make sure I am retaining as much water as possible before I leave this place.

It is only a few miles from where I intended to get water at the lake. I am curious to see how good of a source it would have been. When I get there it is what I expect. It is a lake that has a muddy shore. It has plenty of water that probably tastes like dirt. And it would require waiting out 20 or 30 ft for it to be deep and clear enough to collect. I am glad I went to the campground despite them being closed.

I have only about two more road miles before a long section of trail where I intend to camp. Judging from the satellite view I have a place in mind it’s about a mile and a half from the trailhead, but I have four miles of trail to pick from.

Just before I get to the trailhead, I woke by a house where the lady has just come out to get her mail. She asks if I need any water. I have only drank a half a liter but I will definitely accept any offer of water. So I drink the rest of the partially filled bottle and give it to her to refill. Now I just managed to help the net effect of one extra leader of water. I will feel my comfortable for tomorrow’s hike.

When I get into the trail section, I can hear the voices and hollers of kids only a few tents of a mile behind me. There is no sense in even looking for a campsite until I am certain that they are no longer anywhere around. There are several good ones that I could have picked but I keep going.

By the time I get to the spot that I had scouted on the satellite view, the kids voices are nowhere to be heard. Now to start looking for a spot. This area seems okay. It is not real flat and the vegetation is a bit thick so I keep moving on.

I get to a section of woods that I know is the last woods before I will be entering a large meadow. This would be an ideal spot to stop. On the right side or pine trees {space} why depart and without any undergrove but the ground is a little too sloped. On the other side there is level ground but there is a little more vegetation.

I dropped my pack at a place that looks decent and decide to go see the edge of the meadow to see if I can see anything further down the trail. That was a good move because right at the edge of the meadow is a bench overlooking to meadow. And there is an even better spot only 20 feet away from it. So I go back and grab my pack and move it to the new spot.

I set up the tent first and then get my cooking gear and go to the bench to start cooking. Tonight it will be my last dehydrated meal of chicken and dumplings. I have some Irish butter and partially that I can add to it to jazz it up. Other than the chicken being a little tough it was actually really good.

I look over the maps for tomorrow’s hiking section. My schedule says that I’m supposed to take an Uber into a town five miles away to get a free hotel. The town only has 6,000 people so I’m not sure they will have Uber service. It’s 25 mi to that spot on the highway which is close to the distance that I did today. If I reserve a room and there’s no Uber service it is going to be a very miserable 5-mile March into town. It will be an equally unpleasant March back out from town the following morning.

I should be passing a small town with a bar and grill for a late lunch tomorrow. If I get there in time and have enough daylight to potentially make the 5-mile road walk I will go ahead and book the room tomorrow. I will let the weather and my water tell me what to do tomorrow.

Emotion of the day, Disappointed

Seeing the Amish buggies was not a disappointment, that was a bonus. But the heat was certainly disappointing.

Comments on one of the views in the guidebook said That the view was the most impressive at least going eastward. Going Westward it was hardly even memorable. I can think of a half a dozen views already that were better than this one. Maybe that means the Western half of the trail is going to be really boring. That would be disappointing.

It was disappointing to see that the lake I planned to filter water from would have been a difficult place to get water from. It was doubly disappointing to walk a mile off trail and a mile back to go to a campground that was closed for the next 4 days. But at least I was able to get some water, even if it was iron tasting water.

The bar for lunch in the hotel at the end of the day would suggest that tomorrow would be anything but disappointing. So if tomorrow ends up being disappointing then I will be whatever emotion goes way beyond disappointment. Hopefully you’re not all the way to anger. It’s too hot to be angry.