Day Four

Despite not setting the tarp and leaving some of my clothing layers back at the car yesterday, I stayed nice and warm overnight in the hammock, and the stars were spectacular. As I’ve mentioned before, 20℉ is the lowest temperature I plan to go out in. Not because I don’t have the gear for lower temperatures, but because doing camp chores and whiling away the hours of darkness when it’s below 20℉ is not a lot of fun.

My plan was for a leisurely start to the day. Idling until after lunch, and then hiking up Mary Hollow, back to the McGarr Ridge Trail, and back to the Hwy CC Trailhead. From there, it is an hour or so drive back to Ginger at her parents’, where the plan was to spend the night in the Farm Cottage.

After three days of solitude, my early morning was interrupted by voices coming down the trail on the opposite side of the hollow. I heard them a good twenty minutes before they arrived. The couple went very quiet when they finally spotted my hammock. They carried on towards Mary Hollow, presumably to complete a loop from the McGarr Ridge Trailhead. So, thus far, I had only seen two people in four days. Not too bad.

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