Day 125

22 Miles

Cold and damp this morning, slow getting around and packed up. I made the mistake of not checking where the trail is when I went to dig a cathole. I have no idea how much those two hikers saw. It rained off and on until lunch, which made it difficult to stay warm and dry at the same time. Full Moon caught up to us at Rock Creek where we were taking our morning snack break. We continued on until lunch. We went up a small embankment to an old forest road. Roads can be great for flat spots. We ate our lunch, did some more layering changes, and then hiked on. Almost as soon as we started Full Moon came running up to us heading southbound (he must have passed us while we ate). He left his cook pot somewhere and asked if we saw it. We hadn’t, so he ran on. We thought he might join us at camp, but he never showed. Maybe we’ll see him tomorrow. Most of the afternoon was steady descent to the Panther River. A few miles before camp, we stopped to get some water and the bridge over the river had a paper plate reading, “Hungry 4 Hot Dogs? Knock on the trailer ahead!” The couple there was handing out hot dogs and chatting with hikers as they passed through. They’re hoping to hike next year and wanted to check out Trail Days and do some trail magic. Cool! Nice people, and I’m thankful for that hot dog. The remaining miles to camp were easy enough. Finding a tent site took some poking around, but we managed.