Do you ever take a photo and then wonder, "What was that about?
Well, this is one of those:
No doubt it meant something significant at the time. And sort of along those lines, or not along those lines, I want to mention something very annoying. You ask a person, "Can you please tell me what is the earliest time in the morning that I can drop off my suitcase?" "Any time is fine." "Is 7:00 a.m. too early? Or maybe I should ask whether you have a 24 hour front desk." "Reception opens at 7:45. Sorry, we don't have a 24 front desk."
I thought today's walk would be super easy. It was not. More elevation than I expected, for one thing. Then there were several navigational problems. Fortunately, I caught myself each time before going too far the wrong way, but that anxiety is exhausting. A million stiles, the kind with the heavy spring that are hard to keep open as you are trying to squeeze through, tons of gates each with tis own peculiar means of unlatching. It all adds up! But it was only about 12 miles!! Maybe it is the smoke from the wild fires in Canada!
First obstacle of the day:
NO!!!! I do not do stepping stones! Thank God the water level was low. I opted to wade through rather than chance a spectacular accident! Suzie Grimes, it is for times such as this that one wears boots! (But honestly, I must be the only person who still wears hiking boots.)
More hay has been made!
Because they just cannot stop eating!
Girls, it 's been real, but is time to leave these green pastures and waddle off:
An especially pretty section:
Would you believe?
There were cows in the field; The Bull I did not see, but it is not as if I went looking. None the less, I proceeded very very cautiously.
Dude, you so badly need a haircut!
I guess a couple of hikers quit:
Speaking of which, I looked up the results for the "A Foot in Two Dales" event. Only about 25 people did not finish. I am incredulous. That is truly amazing. Someone told me that there were 150 participants but apparently, there were over 200. I must stop whimpering about a 12 mile day, especially when I can get ice cream at the end of it!
A view from (not too terribly) high up:
Note the sheep in the left pasture.
YES, ALL ROADS DO LEAD TO CHELM! (even if it is not spelled correctly!)
For those who are not acquainted with the Chelmites: When God gave out brains, he forgot the good people of Chelm, but Isaac Bashevis Singer immortalized them in a book, The Fools of Chelm and their History.
A section towards the end of the stage was paved with flat stones:
Get out of the way for this guy:
Hawes is a genuine town, replete with antique stores and everything. This is where Wensleydale cheese is made, BTW. What surprised me the most is that there is a really good Spar here. Usually, the Spar is a little convenience store, but this one carries decent produce and good bread! We all have our priorities and our needs!
Some things I have noticed: people have been very nice. I would say that so far, in that regard, this has been the most pleasant of all my walks.
Teeth: People have terrible terrible teeth. I still cannot get over that.
Groceries are much less expensive than they are in CT, but of course, that is before converting the currency!
Tip of the day: If you are going to have tuna fish, buy tartar sauce instead of mayonnaise.