Day 4
Miles today: 10.7
Campsite: half mile away from Gooseberry Trailhead
Water availability: Van Deren Spring, large pond.

I told myself I’d sleep in this morning only to find myself wide awake at sunrise. I got up and packed my things then I realized I could get breakfast at the steakhouse since I had plenty of time before Bryan joined me. I waited until 8am and no one opened the restaurant so I walked in the general store inquiring about their hours. The cashier, a hiker friendly person, reminded me it was only Friday and they do not open until 11am! Derp, I completely had forgotten it was only Friday.

I grabbed a frozen burrito and a coffee and ate at the only table available in the store. I was getting antsy and needed to get back on the trail. Typically by 9am, I had about 3 hours of hiking behind me. I took the morning slow and even rest for about an hour to stretch my time. Bryan wouldn’t arrive at Gooseberry Trailhead until 5pm so there was no need to hurry. I saw a small herd of elks, which two of them had massive racks! I also heard gunshots which reminded me it was a good idea that I wore my Florida Trail, bright orange t-shirt on this trip.

I got to the trailhead where I was meeting Bryan 3.5hours early so I listened my audiobooks for a few hours and snoozed a bit. He arrived shortly after 530pm and we went half of a mile up the trailhead and set up camp. Ahhh. It’s good to have company on the trail.

Happy trails!