Going to bed at 8 makes it easy to be up by 5. There were a lot of people camped here so it was not a quiet night. It was nice to hear someone playing the flute before retiring. We are sold on our dried meals. The only other person that was up was a scout master who was enjoying the peace before the storm. A steep trail led to Bear Gap which is known for its sunrises. We met an older women who had hiked up the other side to enjoy that activity at that location. After the morning climb the trail mellowed out. A thru hiker called Shadow Hawk with his hat called scarecrow smoked us as he was quickly out of sight. A half dozen south bounders greeted us as well. There is usually a friendly exchange of trail conditions and water sources. A long lunch break had us reading more chapters of the Martian. Love the springs for water sources. Stonefly and Chickadee had stopped there as well. We had made tenative plans to stop at Urich cabin for the night. But upon arriving there it was already occupied by three fireman who looked as if they were ready to do some heavy partying. We had dinner by the stream near there and then made our way up to Windy Gap. Just after leaving the cabin we were introduced to the sport of mud bogging. The participants sure seemed to be having fun. Today was the first day my knee did not hurt and Don has figured out a better system for socks. We are on a roll
Mileage hiked 20 miles-Windy Gap
