An overnight rain drove Mama Bear and Cartwheel out of the unprotected hammocks and into the tent with RobinHood and me, but it had cleared by morning. We started the day with fried bagels and hard boiled duck eggs, then summited Apple Orchard Mountain for a view of some giant geodesic structure.

Then on down the other side where we had some excitement when we passed under a precariously lodged boulder known as the guillotine. But just as with the black rat snake sighting later in the day, everyone kept their heads and we made it through unscathed (although yesterday’s double entendres were panned by the pundits, I must remind you that you are reading these posts voluntarily).

It was hot, but the day was filled with flowing water. We swam in streams, creeks and rivers, and passed by brooks and springs. The kids tried to catch fish in their hands while we swam, but they all slipped through their fingers.

The evening brought a quiet dinner shared with a few other through-hiking friends. Then the kids set up the hammocks bunk bed style and climbed in for the night. The biting insects have just started to emerge, with tonight being the first really bad night; we’ll see whether they last the night without the bug protection of the tent.