Day 5 – 4/27/13 – 7.7mi (84.7)

It’s our first town day! Ninja, Liz, Strider and I all got into town by 9:30 am. Now that’s a nero! (Nearly a “zero”, or rest day). We met up with Wired at the hotel where we had a reservation and resupply boxes for the next leg waiting. Since it was too early to check in, we ended up just sitting around the hotel lobby for a while. What? It’s town day and I haven’t mentioned food yet?? It seems we haven’t yet developed full hiker hunger demanding cheeseburgers the moment our feet hit a paved road. We scrounged some ice cream and random other bits of food for lunch once we got in our room. Liz even ate an extra Mountain House meal.

We spent the afternoon doing the usual town chores, like showers and laundry, but also took care of little bugs with our gear systems. For example, I duct taped cardboard to my foam backpad on my backpack to stiffen it because it was curling uncomfortably into my back. This is my second Gossamer Gear pack, and the second time I’m experiencing this problem, so at least I know how to fix it.

I also replaced the sunscreen and chapstick I lost already on day 2 and got some wet wipes and butt paste (yes, you read that right) to help with chafing. Of course, shopping at places like Dollar General inevitably leads to impulse purchases, like DIY duct tape bracelet kits with stick-on bedazzles.

Ninja made bubble wrap sleeves for all her electronics to replace heavier cases.

The Daily Ninjups Report
Cowboy camping made it easy to go directly from sleep to push-ups. Also, Liz, Wired and I had a little free time today.