Friday August 9, 28.1mi/45.2km

Ogle Creek (498.7/3802ft) to Cow Pond (526.8/4272ft) (WA)

Since I did so many miles yesterday, I slept in until 7am today. I started walking at 7:30, and said my usual greeting, “good morning cows!”

The morning was an 11-mile dirt roadwalk on an old forest service road. I was enjoying counting down the mile markers, and this one inspired me to play some rap music.

I stopped at the Sweat Creek picnic area for lunch, and then hiked up a short mountain under gathering clouds.

Coming down the other side, I saw plenty of springs to fill up from. I’m glad I filled up at the first spring, and didn’t wait for the second one! Bleh.

I could see the clouds thickening, and there were a few light sprinkles, but nothing umbrella-worthy.

On the descent, I was mostly in the trees, so I was paying more attention to the things nearby, rather than the views. I saw a PNTA trail crew had carved themselves a name…

And this bridge needs some help. Good thing all the creeks are dry.

The trail came out at a dirt road, but someone had put up “private property” signs, gates, and weird plastic skulls. It seemed like they were squatting on public land, and it was just plain creepy.

On the dirt roadwalk, the “Deliverance/Hills have Eyes” theme continued…

There were probably a dozen junk cars, abandoned RV campers, hundreds of “keep out” signs, a few unabomber-style shacks, gun propaganda, and even two loose junkyard dogs (one got kicked). WTF is wrong with people?

After a mile of that insanity, the trail moved on to a nice open grassland area, it reminded me of the Southland District (NZ).

And later, some nice farm fields that were freshly mowed.

Because my planned 20-mile day would have me stop in Deliverance-land, I kept on walking. And walking. Finally, at 6:30pm I reentered public land, and I setup camp a few hundred meters over the boundary, at a cow pond. Moo.