There are some horse stables at Round Bottom, and that means there's horse poop on the trails. I wasn't too fond of that, but the horse trails do tend to be wider and, other than the places where they mash the trail into a mud pit, they're kept up very well.

When I first got out onto the road and paused for a snack, I heard an army approaching...but it was only 4 horses. One of the riders was all decked out in crisp jeans, new boots, an embroidered cowboy shirt and a new white cowboy hat. I guess it's possible he was a real cowboy...he was on a horse after all...but he reminded me of George Carlin's bit about how Brits don't dress up like pirates just b/c their ancestors did.

Gnats were worse today, getting in my eyes and ears, but at least they weren't biting. I put on my HF buff like a headband and pulled it down over my ears...which was great except a little hot. After a while the gnats would go away and I'd roll it up off my ears. But I think they had a sentry watching. "Hey guys! His ears are exposed! Attaaaaaaack!!" And they'd divebomb right into my ear canal.

One reason I really like to go on long hikes alone is so I can think until all my thoughts have been thunk. That's hard to do with cell phones, computers, kids, distractions...but out here, I can really think about what's important. Today I thought mostly about my kids. My older son has a lot of moral courage, and I respect that. Sometimes that courage gets in the way of his better judgment and he needs to be reined back a bit, but he's able to stand up for things that I'm not sure I would have been able to do at that age. And he's so intelligent...I hope his wisdom catches up to that someday.

His brother Joker is so inquisitive and athletic. He asks questions that no 10 year old I've ever met is ready to ask...and he actually listens to the answers. War, religion, politics...he's pretty aware for his age. And a great athlete. Had a losing season this year, but I think he learned a lot from it, especially regarding his attitude and how to treat other players who aren't as good as him. They both make me proud.

I didn't realize that snails were cannibals, but these two appeared to be eating a snail that had been crushed, probably by a horse.

Just as I got to the river I filled up my water bottle underneath the bridge. As I was putting in the pills and getting comfortable for a break, a couple campers from the other side of the bridge (this may be site 47) walked by to get their water and one said, "Doin' some hikin'?" Since nothing resembling a road was even within earshot, I was about to say, "Naw, my horse got tired so I put 'im in this here pack to rest up...here's your sign..." But I didn't know if he'd think it was funny so I just said, "Yep."

On the way back from getting their water, the old man said, "I hope that's not straight from the creek!" "Yeah, but I got water pills so I won't get sick." "Oh, you should have said something and we'd let you use the filter." I think it's great how folks are so nice, but it's also interesting that people get so reliant on technology that they assume some things are "better" than others if they're more technological. Like I didn't choose to bring the pills instead of a filter. They sure were nice, though...we talked for several minutes before I walked on.

I almost pissed myself at bedtime, though. I was using my headlamp and writing down some notes about the hike, and when I turned off my headlamp my whole tarp lit up from the outside! It all came from one spot like someone was standing over me with their headlamp on! But I knew I would have heard them come up that close, so I peaked out from under the tarp...and there were fireflies everywhere! The silver in the MacCat disperses that little light into a huge flash, and it was awesome. They were everywhere, and some flashed very brightly and rapidly, while others flew low and slow and stayed lit up for about 10 seconds. One even came under my tarp and landed on my hammock. I'll definitely remember that experience.