It was a pretty stiff walk to Flatwoods Park, about six miles. For all that, it was a lovely day. The sky was blue, the sun was hot. By the time we got to the park, we were pretty beat, but a long break put us back in fairly good order. Four miles to home.
We had a ragged end to our hike. Rachael and Ali called to be picked up about a mile and a half from Flatwoods on the way home because they had a church meeting they were going to be late for. Also, Alli was having some problems with her legs. Then, as we turned onto Reeves, Ben's dad pulled up to pick him up and take him to work. Finally, Kaleb and Connor asked permission to step off the route as we passed the high school in order to go to Kaleb's house. That left us with seven still on the trail to stumble into the church parking lot at about 6:19 p.m., just a few minutes past five hours after we left. Pretty good time, I must admit.
I did fine. I'm beat to a pulp, but my body held up, eighteen days after surgery. I carried about ten pounds -- mostly water. Pat deserves extra credit for adding some weight to his pack, including a 20" cast iron skillet. That's really making a statement. Adding this hike to my lifetime total, I'm now at about 1,353 miles of hiking.
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Ninja Turtle Pat's hardcore, man |
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Horsing around The neighbors come to the fence to say hello |
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Executive Treehouse Flatwoods Park, break |
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Flatwoods |
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Already showing signs of wear Flatwoods Park |
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Roadkill "Poke him with a stick!" |
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This barn has character Starnes Rd. |