54.54 miles today, 2595 miles overall
Without having to break camp and pack tents, we got off to an unusually early start this morning at 6:45. Before long we were riding in the tunnels of shade that have been helping us deal with the heat.
But the nature of this trail is changing, and we are meeting more single-sided shade areas
We realized that we were frequently “shadebanking’ (that’s a new word). It’s defined as time taken to fortify oneself the shade of a trail before scuttling across an open section in direct sun.
Shadebanking aside, we were looking for a breakfast opportunity and coming up blank. Someone left a couple of apples in the fridge at the shelter and since the fridge is supposed to be emptied before departure, we took them along with us. At about 15 miles, in a moment of desperation, we tried apple and peanut butter in our last three tortillas and found it more than acceptable. So there’s a new option for future lunches (apples travel better than bananas on warm days).
Thankfully, we covered 30 miles by about 10:30 am and found ourselves at McKittrick and the Loutre Market (it’s close to the Loutre River, north of Hermann). Brunch was a combination of breaded chicken or fish, yogurt and raspberries.
After lunch we got back on the trail and noticed some trail/river-side navigation markers, but we had seen no vessels navigating the river.
Before we left the market, Steve had the presence of mind to pick up some snacks. Most importantly a six pack of donuts. Not long after brunch, we found ourselves ready to eat those donuts and decided the best place was on the bridge over Smith Creek.
We watched a school of very large catfish and a snapper turtle swimming around, and then the intricate dance of Miss Emma (large tug) and Abigale Dayle (small tug).
While that was going on, the Jamie Leigh (very large tug) passed on the way downstream. So now we know why the navigation markers are there.
We didn’t realize that the Smith Creek Bridge was going to provide such entertainment, so we are very glad we stopped. Our only disappointment was Steve’s selection of a six pack of donuts instead of the 12 pack he’d also considered. We got back on the trail…
…and made rapid progress to Marthasville where we got great pizza at Philly’s.
We are now lounging around at the local ballpark where we are campimg for $5 per head. Unfortunately, there are lots of pesky kids playing ball 😉…
… so we’re going to have to wait a while before we can get set up.
Flora and fauna
In addition to the snake and tortoise I posted pictures of earlier, we saw
Not photographed:
- Badger (too fast)
- Many cardinals (also too fast)
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