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Perfect Weather

2nd May

15.7 miles

Hot Springs (273.1) to Bushcamp (288.8)

I was in no rush to leave town. I wanted a nice filling breakfast before the crowds arrived at the diner. Somebody forgot to inform the crowds, it was packed by 7.15am. It was another long but worthwhile wait.

I resupplied, packed out a 12 inch sub filled with loads of salad and hit the trail around 10.30am. Every hiker that arrived in town yesterday was having a Zero day with the exception of myself and Delicate Flower.

There was a steep climb as the trail cut its way uphill out of the town of Hot Springs. I could tell early on that my body wasn’t enjoying the hiking. The usual boundless energy that I had on the trail was failing me. I’d eaten too much food in town and was feeling sluggish.

After a couple of hours of hiking with Delicate Flower he went in ahead. I was unlikely to catch him. I got slower with each hill, of which there were many. I kept pushing late into the day with regular rest stops and set up camp alone on a small patch of flat ground.

As it got dark I settled into my sleeping bag. I finished writing my blog post and started to close my eyes when I heard the crack, a very loud crack, followed by the sound of a very large tree branch bouncing its way off other tree brackets directly above me. I turned onto my stomach and held my head with my hands. I expected this would be a painful. Less than a second later there was a large thud right outside my tent. The tree branch wasn’t as big as I thought, but it was big enough to destroy my tent or my head. I was lucky.

Next : Day 18 – The Calm before the wind

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