Another night of good rest at Angel’s Rest Hiker Haven hostel. I can’t say that was the same for all guests that night. Though no fault of the hostel. There was a bit of commotion when we woke up because someone threw up in the bathroom sink. We all assumed it was just someone out late drinking too much. But anytime anyone gets sick at a hostel there’s always concern of it being something more serious and contagious like the Nora Virus. No one else got sick so we chalked it up as someone partying too hard.

I downed some oatmeal and a few protein bars for breakfast. Then I ventured into the common area again in hopes there might be someone in there cooking up another feast. Nope. But there were some free donuts and coffee so I helped myself to a few and cup. The 20+ mile section of trail we had on our agenda to hike this day was hiked by several other hikers the day before. They recommended hiking it backwards, from north to south, as the elevation gain would be less heading in that direction.

The hostel dropped us off at Peters Mountain Trailhead. It was myself, For Sure, Cocoa, and Mulligan. We started off alongside a rushing river. Part of the idea of hiking south was to avoid steep inclines and in direct sunlight. Though we were under shade it seemed like we were climbing for about 5 – 6 miles to start. It might not have been straight up but it was still steep. Once we reached the top it was pretty level for miles, and quite enjoyable.

Mulligan hiked ahead as usual. For Sure, Cocoa and myself stopped for lunch. It was quiet and peaceful. We had a little picnic around some big rocks under the canopy of trees which provided us with shade. We finished our lunch and continued on with our hike. There was one problem, we couldn’t find water for quite some time. As in like 12 – 15 miles. There was nothing we could do but march forward though. So we did.

The temperature dropped and it got dark. It was strange and happened rather quickly. Like a storm was coming. We checked the weather though before we left. There was little chance of rain so we weren’t expecting it at all. Sure enough, the sky opened up, and it started raining on us. It felt good at first as it cooled us off. Then we got drenched. We looked around at the surrounding mountains and landscape. There wasn’t another cloud in the sky. It appeared as if this rain cloud was only over our heads. You know, like you see in the cartoons. Well, just as quickly as the storm started, it stopped, and moved on.

We climbed the hill up to Angel’s Rest Rock. The view was really nice. We took some photos of the view, but also of ourselves. Finally, more photos of some of the folks I’ve been sharing this incredible journey with:) We finally arrived at a place to get water. We all replenished ourselves as well as our water bottles so we could stay hydrated for the rest of the hike.

Shortly after we made our way to Chestnut Knob Shelter. Again, another nice view. I’ve heard this is a beautiful place to catch sunsets. We also heard there was going to be a bit of trail magic at this location later this evening. We were bummed we were going to miss it. Because we were slack packing, our final destination for the evening, was back at the hostel. We took some more photos and marched forward. We still had another 5 – 6 miles to go and it was getting late.

It was mostly downhill the rest of the day. We ran into Step Daddy, Rabbit and Ketchup again. They were headed to the Chestnut Knob Shelter for the evening. The previous night we discussed possibly meeting them up there this evening. But since we decided to hike backwards, logistically it just wasn’t going to work out. We stopped and chatted for a bit and as we parted ways we hoped we’d see each other on the trail in the days to come.

For Sure and I continued our hike down the mountain. We met up with Cocoa who was laying in the grass napping while waiting on us. We hiked a few more miles until coming to a small waterfall. We stopped and took some more photos and then ventured up the hill to a dirt road where we called the hostel to come pick us up. To our surprise, Oddie, who runs the Hiker Yearbook (https://hikeryearbook.com/) picked us up in his school bus. We piled in.

There were a few other hikers Oddie had already picked up. They hiked another section of the trail. We were all starving so we discussed where we’d like to eat dinner. Everyone wanted Mexican. That was definitely not my first choice. Seeing how I had Mexican the past two nights in a row. But who can pass up a big burrito, salty chips, salsa and a cold beer, after hiking 20+ miles all day? Not me. So Mexican it was.

After dinner we walked back to the hostel. We showered and I headed back to the bunk house. For Sure and Cocoa were sharing a room in the house. There’s a term for hikers who “date” on the trail. It’s called “Pink Blazing”. Pink Blazing can also mean when one hiker choosing his or her daily camping destinations based on where another hiker plans to stay. In normal society this is simply called stalking. So Pink Blazing can either mean when two hikers are dating on the trail, or when one hiker stalks another hiker on the trail.

The only blazzzing I was doing after hiking 24 miles involved myself, my bunk, and the back of my eyelids catching some z’s. I was beat. As I laid there in my bunk, one thing I did take note of was how many times I tripped during the day. I typically trip like 2 – 3 times. Nothing major. Just small trips over rocks or roots. I noticed since I got my new shoes I was tripping a lot more. It must have something to do with the lower profile or something. Changing from boots to trail runners. I just need to focus on picking up my feet more I guess. We’ll see.

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