It is difficult to express the wonder of hiking. Every day is just about the same, yet it never gets bought or feels repetitive. Perhaps it is meeting new people each day, or the thrill of not planing exactly how far I will hike.

Today, I got an early start, which are my favorite starts. A former thru-hiker I met told me he used to aim for 10 miles by 10:00, 20 miles by 2:00, and then finish out the day with a few more. I really like this idea. Though it is pretty extreme for my body to do every day at this point, I thought I would try it today. For the most part, I was right on schedule. The forecast called for rain all day, but it only came down a little, right before I got to Elk Park. I tried to speed up to avoid the worst of the rain, which is a pretty bad idea. The result was my first major fall. Slipping on a wet root, I wet down. No injuries, but a good deal of mud stayed on my hands and knees.

After 23 miles, I got to the road just before 3:00 p.m. The post office closed at 4:00, and since nobody wanted to give me a ride, I set a brisk pace toward town, another 2.5 miles.

I made it in time, and was pleased to receive some Easter candy from home! With the rain still threatening, I wondered what to do. I ended up finding J’s Market, run by an extremely friendly man (J?). He was very helpful and let me stay under the roofed picnic table to cook dinner and charge my phone and charger. What was dinner? I bought it at J’s: Chili, Duncan family style.

Though not as good as a home cooked meal, it was pretty good… and over 2000 calories.

Now, I am back to the trail (might wait out the rain just in case). I will probably set up camp as soon as I step on the trail, as I’m exhausted. Today was awesome though. Despite the overcast day, there were still beautiful sights.