Day 14 & 15
A pebble beach at sunset near the hotel
Not sure what these are, some kind of aster? But I think it's cool how they have yellow and purple centers.
Distance: 18 mi
Weather: overcast and warm
Mood: Glad to be back on trail
Hanging out for the afternoon in Silver Bay's only bar
After laundry and a washing the trail grime off of us on Friday, Saturday was more about prep to get back on the trail. Without a car, we ended up still doing quite a bit of walking between the hotel and town, probably more than 5 miles in total. We'll call that active recovery! We also filled up on the delicacies ok offer from the two restaurants (and food truck). I felt a compulsion to eat everything in front of me after being fairly ravenous on trail. That plus the only accessible diversion being the town bar/liquor store, meant I spent most of the weekend feeling a little sick to my stomach. The dangers of civilization!
After all that, and a heavy resupply of 6 days of food, I was feeling ready to get back on the trail. It surprised me because I had been looking forward to getting into town, but now I wanted to get out! We are here to hike after all! We had long, heavy miles today but after an hour or so of complaining muscles and joints, I felt like the miles just rolled by! My body seems to be adapting quickly to hiking all day. Time just flies by between the snack breaks.
The trail was rocky today and the elevation was like a rollercoaster with 4 hills. Some unique plants up on the ridges, more shrubby cedar bushes and pines. Made for interesting hiking and before long we were at camp. I think the heavy packs and long miles were harder for Dad today, so it's good we've got a short day tomorrow. At this point with knees and feet taped up, I think he's more Leukotape than human!
Blazes painted directly on the rocks rather than the trees.