Day 6.
Miles today: 20.1 miles.
Miles so far: 87.0 miles
Campsite: Curve in dike.

Long gravel road walk today. I woke up around 5am, scared by footsteps coming my way in the dark… It was creepy and I sat straight up and said good morning. No one replied.I peaked out of my tent vestibule and Alex was passing me at 530am. He was 6 miles or so behind me last night. He couldn’t sleep so he got up and started hiking. I got up, ate breakfast in the tent and was on my way by 550am. The toe blisters are getting better but are very sensitive. First step is always the hardest, after a few minutes it’s all numb so perfect to crank some miles up.

It was rainy, dark and windy. It made for a cold morning. I had to use the headlamp until sunrise at about 630am. Past a few houses with loose guard dogs barking and running my way which was a tad scary. You never know if they’ll pass the property line and come to you or not.

By 7am I caught up with Alex and we hiked together. Around 8am we passed a blue tent that I had seen before… It was Syd the sloth. He got up and hiked behind us. Alex had a slower pace as he had already hiked over 10miles so i continued on faster to warm up. By 945am, I had 17 miles behind me.

We stopped at an rest area that had tables so we could get cover from the rain. Alex hiked 23miles so far. We stopped for 2hrs and enjoyed the rays of sunshine.

By that time, I really had to poop. (yes, poop talk. Backpackers will understand) and I went behind a shed but the cars on the road could see me. Thankfully it wasn’t a busy road. Oh well. We started hiking again. Within 2 miles, I had to go again! So I fertilized the Lone Palm tree by the levee, the only cover in sight…

We made it to camp, the curve in the dike. 25 feet away is the canal. Upon our arrival, an alligator jumped back in the water. We set up camp and were quiet for a while when Alex stood up and the alligator, who had sneaked back on the bank, made a big splash in the water. At dusk, they seems to be moving a lot more.

While on our tents, after a moment of silence, Alex goes “I’ve got your trail name” and he goes “Double Deuce“. We burst out laughing. He was making fun of me having to poop twice within 2 miles. And had previously showed him my deuce of spade, the trowel. As backpackers, we like to talk about poop, a lot and we’re not shy about it. As most of you know about my apricot incident…

And that’s all for today, folks. Lots of hiking and poop talk. AND A  FUNNY TRAIL NAME! Tomorrow is town day, I can’t wait. We’ve had food fantasies. Happy trails!