Day 38 (Tuesday, May 20th) - Elk River Campsite to Dennis Cove 417.0

Today's Miles: 18.70
Trip Miles: 417.00

Some days you just hike. Today was one of those. Head down, one foot in front of the other.
I left early, M and N to follow. We decided to meet at Hardcore Cascades about nine miles away. The day was damp, cool and cloudy to start. I passed several tented campsites. I spoke with Ed from Wisconsin who is doing a section hike. Everyone else was still abed. I passed through long stretches of dark forest. A very quiet morning.

Soon people were up and I started seeing them along the trail. All the talk was about trail days and it made me feel old. I'm glad they all had a good time and I'm glad I didn't go. I got tired just hearing about it.

Hardcore Cascade, though I don't understand the name.

When I got to the Cascades it was dark there too. I left a note for M and N that I was moving on. A short while after the sun finally broke through the clouds. I found a campsite and stopped to eat. M and N came in shortly after me. We ate and napped a bit; laid out on the ground like hounds.

We headed for Laurel Falls, about nine miles further on. We were all foot sore from the tedious, rocky hike so when we got to Dennis Cove Road we decided to camp there by the river. Black Bear Hostel was half a mile down the road so I walked down for some snacks. When I got there, lo and behold, they had beer! Two Yuengling 16 oz., a bunch of snacks and some ice cream for M and N. The owner drove me back to the trail-head so the ice cream wouldn't melt. We ate most of what I bought. I drank the beer and we all cleaned up in the cold river. I got a fire going and we had dinner.

It had been a long hard day for all and Natalie had been unsure she could keep up, but she pushed the pace right to the end and amazed us again. I'm glad we all found each other. We make a good team. Speaking of team, Mike heard from Duck Tape and he's doing big miles to catch us. Can't wait to see him again. Another great kid and hiking companion.

Well, I'm beat and we have another tough section of trail tomorrow. There have been bear problems ahead (some bears have learned how to get food bags off the bear poles). We'd like to hike past the problem area. We'll see.

Bye for now.

P.S. We passed 400 miles!

Bench in the middle of the trail

View from the bench

400 Miles!