Day 53 - 23rd May - Marion - Partnership Shelter - Groseclose - Spring - 13.4 miles

Breakfast is included in the motel tariff, so we rock up to see what is on offer. Coffee and donuts. So we drink the coffee pot dry and eat nearly all the donuts on the tray. Guilt makes me leave one donut for somebody else. Warrior drops us back at the shelter to start walking at around 9.00am.

Our packs are really heavy - we are carrying 7 days food. So our pace is SLOW. It is always hard, the day after a night in town. All the junk food and the extra pack weight makes us very sluggish.We reach the next shelter and discover that Stickbuilt and Tater Chip stayed here last night. They are only 3 hours ahead of us.

The trail detours into an old colonial farm and museum. Hikers are free. Interesting old buildings dating back to 1890s.

We cross a small hamlet, and make our way through farm land to a steep slope on the valley side. I make way on the trail for a lady and a dog to pass, the path is steep - I am on the outside, and next minute I am falling off the path and down the slope. Digby grabs my pack and stops me disappearing into the depths below.

Climbing over fences using a style

Grasslands but we never saw any cows.
They mow the grass and keep the cows in sheds.

We arrive at a main highway - we can hear the cars for a long time before we can see them. There is a roadhouse at Groseclose - the Exxon Service Station and we head in there for lunch. Great roast dinner, and free internet. We stay about 2 hours, and relax into the joy of a great home cooked meal, one of the best on the trail.

We walk on to a campsite at a spring, another 2 miles from the highway. We share the camp with Grissly, Superman (2) and City Slicker, who started hikeing the trail on March 20th.