Aug 13th, Day Thirteen

We woke up this morning to the now familiar sound of rain.  One would almost think it was April, not August.  On the bright side though, today was only about a ten mile day.  Once we hiked our ten miles we would be in the town of Pheonicia, and planned to stay at the campground there.  Since it was a short day we decided to stay in the tent for a while and see if we could wait out the weather.  After a bit the rain slowed, and tent fever kicked in.  We got up and broke camp in a hurry to avoid soaking all of our gear. 

Before setting out, Miles ate the last of his chocolate and almond bar to help him get his energy and spirits up.  We set off down the mountain, and shortly after our departure the rain stopped completely.  This provided a beautiful view of the fog and clouds in the mountains.  Once we reached the bottom of the mountain the rest of the hike was along back roads. 

Shot going down the mountain.

Same shot about three minutes later.

My home for the night (or two).

We walked into the Black Bear Campground sometime in the early afternoon, and set to talk with the owner and pay for our site.  As we were sitting telling stories of the hike and figuring out what site to use, a small black bear cub walked through the middle of camp.  We had been on the lookout for bear for the last 12 days, now we sit in a campground for five minutes and one practically falls into our lap.  They said he was a regular, always came around looking for food. 

Did not actually expect to see a black bear at the Black Bear Campground.

Some of the local flavor.

After Miles set up camp we took a lay of the land, and ran into another regular (human this time) who went by the name of Swampy.  He passed on some valuable information such as which shower was the hottest and where there was a good place to eat; he also invited us over for a beer later if we so desired.  Miles almost immediately took a shower and put on his cleanest dirty shirt.  We decided to set out for a meal and happened to walk by Swampy’s camper.  He saw us out the window and asked if we wanted company, and offered to buy the first round.  He was obviously a character and probably had lots of stories so we accepted. 

As we walked towards Tavern 214 Swampy regaled us with stories of when he got out of jail and hiked across two counties in Florida to get home, and how he lived in the campground for a couple years after helping rebuild it.  He was a character that was for sure.   As we walked up to the tavern the manager was sitting outside.  They were actually closed for the weekdays, so Miles would have to find dinner elsewhere.  We ended up chatting with the manager and Swampy for a bit outside though; after a couple minutes Swampy turned to Miles and said, “Well, I’d buy you a beer at one of them other places back there, but none of them let me in anymore.”  With a good natured laugh and farewell he departed back for the campground while Miles and I stayed and took a tour of the Tavern.  It was a shame it was not open, because it looked like the exact kind of place we were looking for; a very nice menu and wide selection of drinks.

As we departed they recommended we visit the Alamo Cantina for taco Tuesday instead.  We sauntered into the establishment and pulled up to the bar.  We ordered two beef and two chicken tacos to go with a draft beer.  After we put those away, we proceeded to order six more, and put them away too.  What can I say?  Hiking makes you hungry.  We also stopped by the ice cream store down the street and had a large ice cream.  As the tacos, beer, and ice cream battled for supremacy in Miles stomach, we went to bed. 

Traveled 10.35 miles of trail. 

-SM-

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