Despite an unsuccessful detour to find water at a nearby Spring, we were still in pretty good spirits at this point.
Shortly after getting back on the trail, we passed by the remnants of some old stone walls, which for the most part, are now just a pile of moss covered rocks. These walls are former boundaries that farmers used to use to separate their land. A place where crops used to grow, or livestock used to graze, but has since been reclaimed by the forest.
There’s something beautiful about that.
Soon, the forest opened up to a sprawling piece of property where the trail runs along the border.
In this area, there were quite a few wildflowers growing and the sound of songbirds and cicadas was loud and constant.
The next few miles were easy peasy, elevation wise as we made our way through some rather parched wetlands where wooden planks are in place to help keep your feet dry during the wetter months.
Although there seemed to be enough water for the surrounding plant life, there were no pools for us to gather any for filtering. I should also note that at some point before now, we met another thru-hiker, coming from the other direction, who was also looking for water. Not exactly a good sign, given our low supply.
We crossed over a road where the trail picked back up on what appears to be privately owned farmland. The perfectly manicured fields were a pleasure to walk through and as can be expected, smelled like freshly cut grass.
I’ll pick back up in the next post, when we re-enter the woods for a bit and finally find water. Sort of.
Continue reading about this section hike in the next post: Off the Beaten Path
(This is a continuation post. To start at the beginning of this section hike, visit Sages Ravine Northbound)