The song of the day is Misty Mountain Hop by Led Zepplin:
"So I'm packing my bags for the Misty Mountains
Where the spirits go now,
Over the hills where the spirits fly, ooh.
I really don't know."
Yesterday was probably the most challenging hike we have had so far, and at the same time, one of the most beautiful.
When we awoke this morning, it was very cold, mid to high 30's. Fortunately, the breeze was much lighter than the gale force winds we battled the past two days. As we set off on the trail, we had to constantly edge the puddles remaining from the prior night's rain.
We quickly climbed 1000 feet, reaching a peak of almost 5000 feet. The scenery was alpine like, with a light mist surrounding the mountains. Many of the mountain tops were covered with snow, although we did not encounter any snow on the walk. At this point, we came to the famous La Cruz de Ferro, which is a huge cross, surrounded by lots of rocks and stones that hikers have left. This is a symbolic gesture, representing leaving your burdens behind as you continue the journey. I think Linda wanted to dump me on the pile, to leave her burdens behind, but there were too many witnesses! I survive another day....
There is one unburdening that we did accomplish yesterday. Linda has been feeling a little pain in her hips the past few days, so we decided to use the service which takes backpacks to the next town for Linda's pack. I also unloaded a few of the heavier things from my pack, so I was carrying a lighter load myself. No question, this helped a lot.
After about a mile of relative flat, we began a very steep descent of 3000 feet. The descent was made even more challenging by the rocks and loose surface. I can tell you, this type of hiking is very hard on the feet and body.
Along the way, I hiked with Detlif, a very nice German guy. He and I were able to solve many of the world's problems, in a very short period of time! We stopped for lunch in a small mountain town. Perhaps to honor my New German friend, I ordered a Frankfurter....jeez, this was probably the worst hot dog I have ever had!
We continued down the mountain, and finally arrived at our hotel around 4:30. A long day to be sure. We stayed at the La Floriana hotel rural, a very stylish and newer hotel.
After getting cleaned up, we wandered into town for dinner. And who should we run into but Detlif from earlier today. We decided to all go to dinner, and Detlif's hiking companion Chistoff also joined us. We had a reasonably good meal and very interesting conversation.
Tomorrow will be a very long 20 mile hike. Fortunately, it's relatively flat, so that should help somewhat.
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