Another night where mostly clear skies at dusk gave way to a gray rainy morning. Hard to get moving on a day like today but there was little need to. Only had about 11 miles of walking planned with a midday stop at another wayside for lunch. Once I was fully awake the rain stopped and the morning was beautiful. The seven miles to the wayside were painless and quick; there was one stretch almost two miles long of very gentle downhill where the trail was completely smooth and rock-free. Probably the most perfect two miles so far. Made such good time I even made it to the wayside before Strider. The food looked better than the last wayside but I still opted for a turkey wrap rather than another cheeseburger. It was tasty but not terribly filling so I complemented it with a side of onion rings and some snacks from the camp store.
After lunch at the wayside we sat around outside for about an hour then walked a whole mile of the AT and came to the park lodge where we decided to eat again! Yes, it’s impossible to pass up real food on the trail, even if it costs a little bit of money. Today might be one of the few days I’ve eaten more calories than I’ve burned. From the lodge it was just over 3 miles to the shelter, and I was the first one there at 6:20. This will actually be the third night in SNP that we’ve been at the shelter with someone of a bit of AT fame. Skywalker is here, he’s about 7 feet tall and has apparently written a book each about his experiences on the AT and the PCT. Pretty cool guy with a lot of trail stories, will have to check out his books sometime.