Hertline Campsite 1199.3

In the morning we got up early and hiked swiftly to the next Shelter as we ran almost out of water. As we arrived next to the Shelter Everest and Braveheart were already making themselves ready for heading out. But as we arrived we chatted a bit and they stayed almost until we were done. We really enjoy their company.
After the breakfast we went for the upcoming parking lot were we scheduled to meet with Daniel and his family. We arrived there a bit early and there was already a hiker who waited to be picked up. He just quit the trail and planned to go home to the beach. He said it was just not his thing... And right at this point it was less than 1000 miles to Kathadin. For us that was super motivational. But sometimes it's better to quit something early enough than to stick to hard to it. So, as I said, we were boosted by the fact that it's less than 1000 miles... It's just crazy when looking at the map how far we've come, we sometimes can't really believe it. We still feel like newbies compared to other hikers that optimized their packs to a minimum weight and counting every calorie. While we just hike on :D But as long as it works...

I dried our food bags that got soaked by the rain of the last days and Julia called Carmen (Feliz cumpleaños!!) and the rest of the family. Soon afterwards Daniel arrived together with some co-workers of him. It was really nice to see them again, it felt like meeting old friends again even though we just knew each other for a month. Together we hiked to a Shelter that was 2 miles further and on the way we came by two nice viewpoints. It was a perfect day for a hike, the sun was shining but the humidity was pretty low with a nice breeze.
At the Shelter we started a fire and Daniel grilled burgers. His wife made a delicious bowl of salad, oven baked vegetables and a fruit salad. That was the best meal we've had since starting the trail!! They even brought us resupply and a balloon for trail magic.
Because in celebration of the birth of Gordito we wanted to do some trail magic for our fellow thru hikers. Unfortunately there didn't come by many hikers today but we still managed to find some on the way. And the honey buns and cinnamon rolls also tasted good for us :)

We spent the afternoon chatting (auf Schwäbisch!! :)) and mainly relaxing. It felt like a vacation day and time flew. So unfortunately we needed to separate again later in the afternoon. But hopefully we'll see each other again!! We've hiked for another 7 miles to a beautiful camp spot right next to several streams.Read more