Cross Mountain Cows (Day 41)

I heard raindrops hitting my tent around 5am So much for bad weather that held off until I finished packing. I fell asleep again for a few hours before finally forcing myself to get ready for the day.

Changing climate

Today there were 16 miles of rain, fog and cold weather. I spent time thinking about how beautiful yesterday was and how quickly things change. It’s funny how you can have one “perfect” day on the trail and the next will be the complete opposite in every way. It seems like that happens in normal life too. But it definitely makes me appreciate the good ones when they come.

counting cows

About 7 miles in, the trail runs through an open, grassy pasture. It was drizzling and I told a friend that I felt like I was in the English countryside, although, admittedly, I had never been. We passed a group of cows and two calves. They stared at us, seeming curious but friendly. I saw how one of the calves drank its mother’s milk. Part of me wanted to reach out and pet one, but of course I didn’t. There was a bull in the group and he seemed to be protecting his ladies.

The rain stops

I stopped for lunch at the Double Spring Shelter and it was packed. We all squeezed together to escape the last of the rain. It was very cold and in the end I had to walk again to warm up. A little further up the road was another Red Eft, the first in a few weeks. I like how they come out just when the rain lets up every time. It makes me think of seeing a dove like in the story of Noah’s Ark.

The sun came out briefly in the late afternoon and I set up my tent to let it dry before bed. I’ll be up early to head to Damascus and then Virginia.

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