The sun rose, shining directly into our shelter. This was a great wakeup after a good nights sleep. After a bountiful breakfast, Mr. Fantastic and I set out to complete our 10 mile hike to the next shelter for lunch.
Even though the terrain was making it easy for us, we were both feeling quite tired and beat up. The lack of any water source for those 10 miles certainly didn't help. Thankfully there was a spring near the shelter, so we decided to take a long lunch break today. This of course included a brief midday nap. Considering that this was the first time we succeeded in doing our 10 miles by 12pm, I think we earned it.
I set my feet back onto the trail at around 2pm. With 8.5 miles remaining to our campsite I expected to arrive before 6pm, but was planning to take it slow. Also, after only hiking 1 more mile I reached the 600 mile point of our trip. This 100 miles went so much faster than our first 100 miles that it's funny.
Despite my morning lethargy, I quickly found myself making great time. The real reason for my second wind was my music pumping through the new 4 dollar headphones I picked up to replace my ailing expensive ones. Electronics aren't made to survive this kind of treatment.
With this proper motivator I breezed into camp at 5:30pm, crossing a gorgeous suspension bridge on the way. The site is amazing, hidden off a small side trail, under a canopy of green, next to a burbling river. I quickly set up my tent, hung a bear bag line, and soaked my steaming feet while beginning a long dinner.
I started to think that Mr. Fantastic had passed me, despite my trekking poles pointing the way, until he pulled in 2 hours later. He had found some good phone signal up on one of the mountains and took advantage of that. I apparently missed it.
We sat and ate, talked nonsense, and enjoyed the river dividing tonight's backyard. It's a great place to camp, and leading into a great couple of days. Just 12 miles tomorrow will take us to the hostel. It's a short distance day on easy terrain that ends with good food and comfort. Doesn't get much better than that, but when you've got a zero planned for the next day you really start to see the possibilities for recuperation. A much needed thought after so many days of single-minded hiking.
