To Clover Lick... and BEYOND! - Day 48

  I'll just say it. Today was tough. But we totally rocked it and got to the car before dark. OK, not much before, but we did it.

We completed the east side of East Fork State Park. Lots of views of Harsha Lake, but always screened through trees.

There was a creek crossing at the bottom of every hill with a climb back up on the other side. Oh yeah, you might notice that now we have snow. Not very much, just a couple of inches.

But this was our concern- Clover Lick. Yup. Wide. Not enough rocks. Well, we came prepared. We had extra shoes and socks in which to make the crossing. This was a new experience for both of us- fording a river in winter. We changed footwear, set some safety ground rules, shouted a prayer, and I went across. Refreshing is an interesting word, don't you think?

After I was safely across, Denali came too.

We dried our feet and put the other shoes back on, stowing the wet ones in plastic in our packs. The feet quickly warmed again. With singing of songs, and some hallelujahs, we continued on our way.

There was terrible loose mud under the snow for most of the rest of the miles in the park, and lots and lots of steep ups and downs. Then when we finished the park, we still had some road miles to reach the car. Between Denali and I, we have a lot of years of hiking experience, but we both agreed that today was hard. But we did it!

We've now had dinner, done laundry and got the plans all made for tomorrow. Our wet shoes are drying; the trailer smells like hiker feet. But we are happy and warm. And did I mention, tired.

Miles today: 15.3. Total miles so far: 688.1.

See Dirt Beneath My Feet