Miles Hiked: 13.9
Miles Left: 1628.7
Ending Location: Knot Maul Branch Shelter

Well since I was already in town I of course had to stop by The Barn for an omelette. Once on the trail I ran into some trail magic two miles in which consisted of a several Gatorade bottles. Basically my morning was awesome. Side note, this was the first non~soda trail magic and it was greatly appreciated.

The last couple of miles of the day winded through private property. There were some great views over farmland which was very relaxing. Things got weird though when I came across a herd of cattle following the trail. It was on a cliff so I couldn’t pass them easily so I had to wait for them to mosey on. For those keeping tally, I’ve now been closer to being gored by a bull then mauled by a bear. During the last hill climb I was joined by Screaming Steven and we passed the time talking about encryption schemes which was a fun reminder of my day job. It surprises me how many computer science and engineering people are on the trail. I guess there’s something in common between working with machines and long distance hiking that attracts the same types of individuals.

Arriving at the shelter there weren’t any good camping spots but I made do since the shelter itself was rapidly filling up. I seem to be in the middle of a group of hikers that are all averaging about 25 miles a day but don’t carry tents. I’m sure they will blow by me shortly and things will get back to normal.