There was a fair amount of rain last night but after closing the flaps I kept nice and dry inside the tent. I was able to wake up around 5:00 and get all my packing done and out of the park by about 6:15.

The first order of business was to run to the other side of the park and throw away my garbage and to use their vault toilet before proceeding on my road walk.

It was a good morning. It was was very peaceful and I didn’t even see a car for at least an hour. With the early start I should be able to get to Evansville before 10:00 a.m. without any trouble.

The suggested route goes north and makes some back and forth bends. But to the south, if I am willing to walk on the busy road for about a mile, I could probably save 2 miles of walking. After doing one mile on the busy road instead of taking the small back roads I decide to stay on the busy road because it is more direct and the traffic is not bothering me at all.

It was a good choice because it comes to a gas station with a McDonald’s in it, and I could use a biscuit this morning. So I stopped for a quick break and charge up my electronics while I’m sitting there, which is a bonus.

I’m trying to remember the last time I’ve been to a McDonald’s and the only time I can remember for sure is in 2016 on the Pacific Crest Trail. I really do think it’s been 8 years since I’ve been to a McDonald’s.

About a half a mile up the road, I meet with the suggested connecting route coming in from the north. The connecting route has us coming in from the east almost to the center of town. The connecting route turns north and then becomes the official trail in a park with a lake. The whole point of this exercise going to the north end of town is just to hike through this park.

The trail then turns south back towards the center of town. Within a half a mile I can actually see the point where they turned us north just a few blocks ahead. I have walked over a mile and a half and effectively gone three blocks. That’s how this trail goes. No matter where you’re coming from or going to they are going to take you to every little park in memorial in the city.

The trail exits town to the south and ends up following a road that goes to their main high school complex. It then turns to a trail in between the high school and some houses and then exits on a road. It feels really weird walking right through the middle of a high school complex like this. I get the creepy “what do sex offenders do?” thought again. I stop at the baseball field before leaving to sit on their benches and eat a snack.

Now begins more road walking. Probably about 10 miles worth. The suggested route goes south then west then south again but doubles back on itself for about a mile. It looks to me like it would be shorter and easier just to keep going south then go due west. So that’s the route I choose.

And as I’m walking my own route, I am happy with my decision. The route I chose is more direct and has far less traffic on the official route. I have a feeling I’m going to be having to use creativity on a lot of these connecting routes for the rest of the trip.

I am able to find shade trees along the route to take a few 10 minute breaks. I take the chance to nibble on snacks and drink water during my breaks. It’s amazing how just 10 or 15 minutes of resting in the shade will rejuvenate you with energy.

The next town I will come to is Albany. I should get there shortly after 3:00 but with my breaks it’s more like 3:20 or 3:30.

The one thing I really need to do in town is refill my water bottles, as I have less than a half a liter left and we’ll need water for tonight and tomorrow morning. As luck would have it, the bathroom area in the middle of town on the bike trail has flush toilets and an ice cold water fountain. My bottles are now full.

Exiting town there is a Mobile gas station, so I stop and get a pint of ice cream and Dunkin’ Donuts coffee. It’s right at 3:30 now, so this is a good time to have my caffeine. I wanted to make coffee about a mile and a half before town, but I’m glad I waited, because here I have a picnic table and the opportunity to dry out my tent in the sun.

My break here is about 45 minutes, but then I am off again. I got here far earlier than I thought, so the place I am planning on camping I will reach in just over an hour and it is way too early to stop. It is especially way too early to try and stealth camp.

The trail leaving town goes by a river and this was one of the suggested water sources. But the river is pretty cloudy and really hard to get to, so I’m glad I did not even attempt to do this. This is also becoming a recurring theme. Most of the rivers they mark as water sources are nearly impossible to get to and probably not the greatest water. Water fountains have been my primary water source.

As I am passing by all these river crossings another detail makes me glad that I am going through this area early and will not try to camp here tonight. All morning out in the fields with a strong breeze there have been almost no mosquitoes. But here near the river, they are so thick I can see them flying through the air ahead of me. Even with the head net they are really annoying. There is also a strong breeze so these suckers are determined.

All the mosquitoes just make me hike faster. Coffee plus mosquitoes equals a record place. I have a feeling I will be doing this entire 10 mi section to the next town tonight just to avoid the mosquitoes.

After the next town of Monticello, the trail goes through fields, so the mosquitoes should be not nearly as bad. The only downside is here along the river it’s public state hunting grounds. A place that seems more legal to stealth camp.

But past Monticello, it’s private property on both sides. So I will have to be very creative and where I find to pitch my tent. Plus, I can’t go too far or the trail turns into another road walk again.

I begin looking for snowmobile trails that cross the path that I can pitch my tent on. I only have about 30 minutes of daylight left and I’m not having any luck. I see a field of the left that looks promising and walk out towards it. But the grass is so thick that I am positive that I will lose my tent stakes in it. I have to keep moving.

A little past 7:30 I finally see what I’m looking for. There is a snowmobile path crossing both sides. To my right side, a road is very close so this is not ideal. But to the left is a soybean field with a treeline not too far away, and I can’t see any houses in any direction. This will be my camping spot for tonight. And just in time because I am about 1 mile from where the trail turns into a road walk.

I have been fighting mosquitoes for the last 3 hours and there are plenty here where I pitch my tent. I set the tent up quickly, then throw my ground pad in the tent, then throw the entire backpack in and jump inside. I normally place things one by one in the tent before I get in. But I need to get out of these mosquitoes very quickly.

About a dozen mosquitoes make it in the tent with me. I quickly kill about half of them and the rest of them are all buzzing around the top of the tent trying to get out. Suffer, you little bastards.

I have been wanting to try to make mashed potatoes in the bag that the potatoes come in. But I have been afraid that the plastic is the type that shrinks when it gets hot. I decide that tonight is the night I will try this experiment. To my delight it works quite well but it is hard to stir the potatoes at the very bottom. I can probably also not heat the water so hot next time.

It is dark by the time I eat, so I end up unrolling the mattress and sleeping bag in the dark. I’ve done it enough times by now that I don’t need any kind of light to do it with.

Emotion of the day, Pride

I got up and moving pretty early this morning. Both of my alternate connector routes saved me two or three miles in total and were less busy roads as well

I was able to avoid the temptation of eating in restaurants other than McDonald’s in the morning. But I justified that by being able to charge my devices for 30 minutes. I also had to use their Wi-Fi because for some odd reason the entire town of Evansville has zero Verizon signal.

I was able to take enough breaks on the road walk and in town that I never felt exhausted or sleepy. I was getting tired the last mile or two trying to look for a place to camp, but that is normal when hiking so late. I also think I’m at least 8 Miles further than I intended to stop tonight.

Right now I’m proud of these small accomplishments. I just hope the extra 8 Miles doesn’t cause problems for the rest of the schedule, because I still have a lot of road walking ahead of me.