another swimming hole kinda day

Day 75 ~ miles 1197.5 - 1200

I awoke early and wandered around the quiet little town until Moonshine finally crawled out of the tent.  Over breakfast, our jaws nearly hit the table as we viewed the local meteorologist tell of the forecast: the high temperatures would range from 98-103 over the next week, including today.  We had to conquor a really big climb coming out of town, and we didn't want to do so in 100 degree heat, so we decided to wait until it cooled off a bit to hike out of town.

After finishing up our town chores, we went down to the local swimming hole in the RV park.  It was awesome!  Papa Bear joined us as we cooled off in the chilly water.  We relaxed on the porch of the general store with sevetal other hikers for the remainder of the day.  Moonshine gorged on the Gutbuster, a one pound hamburger, while I sprung for the smaller version (one of the best burgers we've had on the trail!).  It was finally beginning to cool off a bit around 6, so we decided we better make our way back to the trail.  One last stop before we got back to business, a Moxa treatment for Moonshine.  Moxa is a form of traditional Chinese medicine that entails burning dried mugwort against the skin.  Moonshine has been having some left knee pain.  Moxa, a hiker, is currently studying Chinese medicine, and offered to give him a treatment.  It was awesome to watch, hopefully he'll have good results.

Once back to the trail, we began our ascent.  Darkness was falling quickly, and I hoped we'd find a place to camp soon.  I am not so keen on night hiking, as my lack of coordination and clumsiness make it difficult enough to hike in the daylight.  Just as it was getting dark enough to require use of our headlamps, we found a small flat spot, not a bit wider than our tent.  We made it work, and we'll finish out the climb tomorrow.