Category: AT TRIPS

🤔

For this year- We shall see. My son and his family are picking me up today ( Friday, May 15. It’s exactly the day a month ago I started my section hike on trail) to return to Illinois for a family funeral. 🤗❤️🙏💐

Am I through with the AT for this year?🤔

In my heart, ❤️ the answer is no, there’s much left to do. My purpose for being on this trail is not yet completed. However, timing is important. I desire to be in the right place doing the right thing at the right time.

🛑 The last 4 years, it seems, my section hikes have come to an abrupt ending. In 2023, a dear church member passed and I returned home a few days early. In 2024, hurricane Helene interrupted my plans. I came home only 17 days after beginning. In 2025, we hiked part of the 100 mile wilderness in Maine with also the intention of summiting Mt Katahdin while we were there and in prime condition. We came out of the wilderness early, because of great complications, but signed up on a Monday to hike the mountain on Wednesday. During that time, there were two hikers, a father and daughter duo, who went missing on the mountain. During the search, the park authorities shut down the mountain and allowed no one to hike it. It was during my window. 🫤Once again, my time hiking came to an abrupt halt. We returned home after only accomplishing 42 miles that year.

I determined 😠this year to plan a much bigger section and hike where I left off after Helene, at Hughes Gap in Tennessee, just south of Roan Mountain. My goal was to hike all of Virginia, over 500 miles, to Harper’s Ferry. Virginia is a beautiful state with less severe ascents and descents than the previous 3 states. It was a doable goal, allowing approximately 2 months to accomplish.

🦽🧐After all, if I keep doing these short trips, like last year, of only 42 miles, I will be in my 90s when I complete it! The AT is 2199 miles long as of 2026!!! The trail gets a little longer each year, mainly due to reroutes. I decided if I could do bigger sections, I might be able to finish the trail by the time I turn 70, in 2028. It would be marvelous to complete the journey by climbing mount Katadhin around my 70th birthday. Since I started section hiking the AT in 2021 on my birthday, it would be very satisfying to complete it 7 years later, on my birthday. 🎁 What a great gift!

A great goal, but we will see. 👀

🏆 As of right now, I have hiked 187 miles this year, a total of 642 miles over 5 years. Btw, Kenneth hiked to mile 608 Lickskillet hollow, in 2012. This was where he got off trail then. When I was slackpacking Tuesday, I passed that parking lot, not realizing this was where he stopped. Maybe I can continue the Trine legacy. If not me, who knows- My grandson Kenaniah may pick up the torch. Like his Dad, Kris, maybe he can thru- hike it, if he’s led to do so.

☁️ 🌟 So, those are dreams and goals I have. Dreams are not impossible, when God is in it. That’s the first thing to find out- What is God’s plan? Something we all should endeavor to do- follow Him and His leadings.

Did He put a dream 💭 in your heart? ♥️ It will happen when one steps out towards it in faith and doesn’t give up. God will enable you to do what you’ve been called to do. Perseverance is key!🔑

Those are my thoughts 💭 for now. I look forward to returning home to family and friends, celebrating the life of my long time friend and sister-in-law, who I first met in kindergarten. She is a joy! She loves the Lord and shared the Light and Life of Jesus wherever she went.

I keep her in my heart as present tense, because she is alive forever in Heaven. She just changed locations. But, she will be missed here on earth! 🌍

God has a perfect plan for each of us. Timing is so important. We must do the work we are called to do, while it is day, Jesus said. Tomorrow may be too late.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29‬:‭11‬ ‭NIV‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/111/jer.29.11.NIV

A dear childhood friend and family member decided to move to heaven. I’ll be going home to attend the funeral and be with family. Whether or not I continue this hike afterwards this year, is yet to be determined.

It is a joy to me, however, my hiker buddies are continuing on their AT journey, whether Grandma Moses is on trail with them or not. I’m glad they are pursuing their dreams. They just needed someone to get them started.

Happy hiking, everyone! 🙌

Remember, every day is a gift. Make sure you are using your gift of life, as God has determined. He will help you run your race, and finish your call, just as my friend did. 🙏🤗❤️❤️❤️

(It’s also been one month since Kenneth and I began our drive to the AT for this years section hike of Virginia.)👈

Today, we slack packed again, because once again, it is supposed to rain and get cold. We are already here at Weary Feet Hostel, so we will enjoy again lighter packs, a home cooked meal, and a warm bed tonight 💜.

Within the first hour, we saw 3 snakes! 🐍 🐍 🐍 The sun 🌞 was shining and they were just literally hanging out in the nearby forest floor of shrubbery.

🐍 The first, I caught out of the corner of my eye. Just about a yard off the trail to my right was, what I thought , was a piece of black rubber tube! Then I thought, “Wait! This is the wilderness! That’s not rubber!” Sure enough, it was a very long black snake. He was just chilling, hidden pretty well by the leaves of the foliage. But his tail was up in the air. I’d say he was about 6 ft long.

Another 100 yards up the trail, 🦋 Butterfly saw one. 🐍 It could have been its sibling. Black and long, only he was more hanging in the bushes. He was still hard to see, so not a great picture. (See my fb for pictures.). Snake number two in two minutes! Again, he was like his brother, very still. No moving around for him.

The third snake 🐍 we saw a few minutes later. This snake was across the trail. I knew it was probably a garter snake, like back at home, because its stripes went longways down its body. He wasn’t so long- maybe 2 foot. He was as still as he could be. Just happy to lay there as we walked around. I texted my daughter later. She said it could very well be an Eastern Garter snake, the state snake of Virginia! How fitting!

Those first 5 miles flew by and were easy with our light day packs. We ate a bite of lunch up on top of some rocks. We’d heard the next section was rocky. Butterfly and I enjoyed it. One had to be careful placing your feet, but for the most part was not difficult. The rocks were beautiful and the day was a great temperature with partly sunny skies.

We prayed before we started and asked the Lord to hold back the rain until we got back. We did this section in record time, and weren’t even trying to hike fast. It was a very enjoyable section, with lower elevation climbs and descents . We came to the blue blaze, which indicates a water source, a shelter or other side trail. In this case, it was the hike down to Weary Feet Hostel. It passed through a beautiful meadow. One could see a few thunderheads starting to form. There was a steep downhill at the end, but then crossed the highway right to their driveway. We finished at 2:15. We began at 8:15. Wow. A record for me doing 10 miles, especially in the mountains.

When we got back, we enjoyed hot showers and a snack to hold us over until dinner time. At 4 pm it rained.

Dinner was a delicious lettuce salad, a plate full of chili on baked potatoes and a delightful pineapple cake dessert. Always too much food for me. Thru -hikers gobbled it down and some had seconds. Fortunately, I do not have that type of hiker hunger. I do tend to eat like a newborn though- every two hours I want a snack.

After we got into our bunks for the night, around 8:30 pm the sky cut loose. Thunder, lightning, wind and a torrent of rain came down. 🌧️ ⚡️ 💨 So glad to be inside! It lasted about 40 minutes. The next morning, I talked with 2 hikers who were tenting ⛺️ in their yard. The one young lady , Bunny, (who btw, is getting her masters to be a speech therapist), said her tent stakes weren’t in very far, and the tent blew up on one side and rain came pouring in.🥶 She grabbed her stuff and dragged it into the house. The owners let her sleep on the couch, as the place was full here at the hostel, and dried her clothes and sleeping bag for her. That’s the way these owners care for their hikers! It’s been a great experience! Thank you 🙏!

Slack packing can be a nice break from carrying a 30+ pound backpack. We had it arranged to slack pack today- taking a small day pack with just the 10 essentials. 💜Purple Haze from Weary Feet hostel dropped us off, along with some others at the Brushy Outpost, where she had picked us up Sunday. Our goal was to hike the 8 miles to VA 611, where she will pick us up later.

We headed out on a cool at first, but sunny, day ☀️ about 8:30 in the morning, up the hill, then a roadwalk which took us down the mountain, for about a mile. Then the trail turned into the woods. We followed the white blazes as we had a pretty steady ascent, up into the 3000 ft range. I’m glad we were slack packing! The ascent was so much easier without that heavy load. After a few minutes, we stopped to shed some layers. It had been 40 degrees when we started but now was warming up nicely. Supposed to get in the 70s later today. We watched as the clouds ⛅️ seem to melt away over the valley. Up on the ridges of Brushy Mountain, the trail was beautiful. With a slight breeze and ☀️ shining through where the trees allowed it, we enjoyed a rather smooth, delightful trail. The foliage 🌳 is now full and less views are seen, even when at the top of these ⛰️ mountains. We were able to keep a good pace. We didn’t rush but enjoyed all the sights and sounds the mountains had to offer.

We stopped about 10:30 for a short break. At 12 noon we saw a nice campsite ⛺️ and enjoyed sitting there up on top of a mountain, having our lunch. Other hikers went by. I like to take my shoes off 🦶 🦶 at noon, check my messages and my Far Out app to see how we are doing. We’d already done 6 miles. Wow! A record for us. But we aren’t in it to set a time record. We are in it to enjoy the journey. 💜💜💜

We talked about going a few more miles if we wanted, since we still had some pep in our step and it was early. We thought we’d make that call later- when we had completed the 8 miles.

The trail continued to be rolling up and down slightly. It was beautiful. Not rocky. 🌲 Pine needles covered the path for a long ways, then more broad leaves as the trees changed. A deer 🦌 came out to see us. Not afraid at all. It let us walk right by and just looked at us non-chalantly while chewing on some vegetation.

The last mile was downhill. I began to tire and get some aches. Time for ibuprofen and a break! I waited until we got to the VA 611 parking lot. 🦋Butterfly and I decided that our hike was complete- was just perfect for today. A perfectly beautiful day. It was the right temperature with sunshine 🌞 and a light breeze. Animals accompanied our journey. Birds chirping and grasshoppers flying out of the grass. An inch worm crawled on my pants as I waited for our ride. Lots of 🦋 butterflies 🦋 . God’s creation is so beautiful. He’s allowing us to enjoy it. Thank you Lord, for this perfect day.

“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭1‬:‭31‬ ‭NIV‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/111/gen.1.31.NIV

We stayed at Jenkins shelter our last night before Weary Feet came and bailed us out of the rain. This shelter was known for its mice. Not only are they in the shelters but will investigate around the picnic table. One hiker commented the mice came out while they were eating, to share. I figured we were fine, because we were several feet away at campsites. We set up camp, ate near our tents as the picnic table and shelter were full of hikers. Did our evening chores, and put our food away. I hung my food bag in a pine tree. Not my best hang, but not the worst either. Butterfly has a bear can.

When I sat down to eat lunch yesterday, on our way to the hostel, we found a picnic table at Laurel Creek Campsites. I pulled out my tortillas to find our unseen friends had decided to have tortillas. Must have been Mexican mice! They didn’t touch anything else, not even the packets of oatmeal. I don’t see a hole in the bag. I figured they climbed in my food bag when it was open, sitting by the place we had set up for supper. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Oh well. And just like a thru – hiker, one cannot let good food go to waste! I tore around where they had eaten, threw their nibbled portions in a zip lock bag used for trash, and pulled a tortilla out for an almond butter and marmalade tortilla wrap.

This morning in the hostel, I got out my food bag to get out something for breakfast. I saw it. The hole. The one that matched the hole in the tortilla bag. They had gotten through from the bottom of the bag. I still think it was the sneaky Mexican mice that gnawed their way through when I wasn’t looking at supper. (please see pictures on Facebook. I will post them later).

Moral of the story. Watch out for Mexican mice, unless you don’t mind sharing your tortilla with them!

A zero day is when one does no hiking. Zero. Nada. It’s good to rest and not be out in in-climate weather, as it is today. Rain continues to pour outside the hostel, since 5 am this morning and not letting up. It is in the low 50s, a very cold rain. Hikers are coming in and have filled up the place. Not only are the private and indoor and outdoor bunks filled, but now 2 couches. It’s supposed to get in the low 40s tonight. It would be pretty miserable sleeping outside in already wet clothes and gear. Glad to have these hostels! The people are kind and accommodating. Nice hot showers brings a person back to feeling human again. This place serves the best meals too. There’s a small resupply for our return to the trail as well. Laundry services are up and running- just take a laundry bag, load it up and turn it in. They will wash your clothes for you.💜👏

I saw an indoor cat 🐈‍⬛ today. She follows around the daughter of the owners who is helping for the summer. The daughter runs upstairs to make a bed, and so goes the cat. Three dogs 🐕 also inhabit the place. One is a rescue. The other two are the ones on guard tho. If you cross the line on the kitchen, for example, she, the alpha dog, will let you know. They are not an issue. The chickens 🐓 are over by the shower house. They have the best outdoor showers. Very well made. Fully private with really nice hot water. Purple towels are supplied along with soap and shampoo.🧴 💜🚿

They moved us out of the private room we had last night to the outdoor bunkhouse. There’s two rooms in there. Two sets of bunk beds on one side then single beds on the other. I chose a single bed with a Buccees fleece blanket. 😉 It reminds me of an old school house.

Butterfly 🦋 and I decided just to use this hostel as home base for the next couple of days. We will slack pack 8 miles Tuesday then 10 miles Wednesday. Wednesday it’s supposed to rain again and already had the reservation in for Weary Feet. So we will just stay. Thursday, we will hike on.

More girls are coming! More girls are coming! WHHB will be here soon! Can’t wait.

This is a common phrase quoted by thru- hikers. It is to be an encouragement to press on, despite the difficulties, to reach the ultimate goal.

No Rain…No Pain….No Maine.

🩷💜🌺🌸🌹💐Mother’s Day! Yay!

🦋Butterfly and I celebrated with a beautiful hike in these Virginia Mountains. 🏔️ We had no signal at the shelter, so we start trying to find it as we climb up in elevation. After an hour or so, we were high enough. My first text that came through was my son Kris, my weatherman, that we may be in for thunderstorms ⛈️ this evening, with dropping temperatures, more rain on Monday, then a low of 40 degrees Monday night. 🥶

Yowza. Not the best weather to hike. It’s one thing to hike in rain. ☔️ It’s another thing to get soaking wet and have low temperatures. Kris suggested getting off trail somewhere that night. Butterfly and I discussed it. We were originally planning to have a short day to a nice camping area, about 5.5 miles. However, we did so well yesterday, we were ready to do more. We thought we might head to the next shelter, which was 13.5 miles. Kris’ idea of maybe making it to Bland and staying overnight Monday too, to avoid the rain and cold, sounded better.

We started looking on our phones. 📱 Not a lot of choices around Bland. I texted my daughter-in-law, Carla, to see if she remembered the name of the cabin she rented for Kris and Kenneth when they hiked the AT through here in 2012. She found it and inquired about it. Oh the prices 💰 had jumped up. And, we’d need a shuttle to make that work.🤷🏻‍♀️

🦋Butterfly had a good idea- Weary Feet Hostel, the next one we planned to go to for resupply, might be close enough to shuttle us and let us stay there Sunday-Monday. Carla volunteered to call. She didn’t want to leave us out in the rain and cold and knew our cell reception was tentative. I’d already lost connection once and we were now very focused on hiking over twice the distance we’d originally planned.

Carla was able to reach Weary Feet and reserve the room as well as secure the shuttling! Fantastic! Thank you again, trail 👼 Carla! And Purple Haze, our hostess at Weary Feet- fabulous!

Answered prayer, absolutely. Butterfly and I prayed for extra strength and grace to get us there. Just as we approached our jump off point, 11 + miles, at Brushy Mountain Outpost, it started to 🌧️ . There was a nice carport there and a picnic table to wait for our ride. Praise the Lord!

Purple Haze came and drove us the 18 miles to their old Victorian style home in the country complete with 🐕 and 🐓 . It was very nice. She obviously likes purple 💜too. She has quite a story about hiking the Appalachian Trail. We heard about it and how they decided to buy the hostel 2 years ago. 🐻 Great place! Really good food too!

Another Mother’s Day blessing for me was being able to watch our church’s Sunday service on line. ⛪️ During the night, as I was praying about our days ahead and wide awake, I decided to watch the service. Usually I don’t do that at 2 am, but I miss my church family and love to hear what the Lord is saying. I get to watch my hubby play the piano and lead the worship too. ❤️❤️❤️👏

There was a word just after the worship, about God enabling us to “ ford rivers, cross valleys and climb 🏔️ . “He has enabled you to do this.” I believe He was speaking directly to me. I know He was to others too, but I could take this personally and literally! It is so good how God cares for us, comforts us, as Pastor preached, encourages us, and helps us. Thank you Jesus!

🙏If you don’t know Jesus, He wants you to know Him. He will come live inside you, if you ask. He will forgive you of all your sin, when you make Him Lord and Savior. He will make you brand new inside- a new creation in Him. Then, you can experience real life- a brand new life full of peace and joy on the inside. He will teach you how to hear Him. John 10:5 says that “My sheep know My voice. A stranger’s voice they will not follow.” He will guide you and give your life purpose. What a wonderful adventure life is, when you trust Him and follow His plan for your life!

For more information on making Jesus your Lord and Savior, you can go to other posts on this blog, such as Call on the Name of the Lord, The Sunday Evening Post- Who Can You Trust? And others.

Talk to your Pastor, or if you don’t have a church home, look for one in your area that teaches the Word of God. You will grow in Him and establish relationships with other Christians that will help you in your new life in Christ. Also, I’ll be happy to pray with you. Ginger.trine@ gmail.com.

💜👏 🥾 🏕️ 🏔️ 💐🌺🌸🦋 Life in God is a great adventure! Go out and enjoy it!

We left Burke’s Garden Hostel with a ride in the Kawasaki which behaved much better under the driving of its owner. Our goal was 9 miles to the next shelter. It was a beautiful day, starting off cool but turning warm with a cool breeze in the 70s. We climbed up to 4000 feet and stayed along a ridge for several miles, walking in the fresh green spring growth. The rhododendrons and mountain laurels were not opening up yet this morning. There was a frost the morning before. Large ferns often lined the trail. Trilliums showed up- prairie and snow, with big blooms. Squaw root continues to make an appearance.

It was a very rocky trail today, but they were stable rocks one could step around, through, on or over. Up on top of the mountain were huge boulders. There was a rock wall, reminding me of my home state of Illinois in the Shawnee National Forest, except these formations were at 4000 ft.

Not alot of views today, but a few windows of the beautiful valley with farmland and their barns, silos and houses.

It seemed an easier day for us. Met several hikers going both directions. Thru hikers of course, but weekend warriors as well. There were 2 sheriffs from Tazwell County hiking the trail. They said they do it every weekend to ensure safety. A couple of times the last few weeks I’ve met ridge runners too. It’s good to know the trail is being monitored and maintained.

Tonight we camp in our tents along with many others. Several are also in the shelter. The water source is good here. The privy, not so much, but at least there is one.

I hung my food bag in a pine tree. Not my best hang, but hopefully will suffice. I had the Many Beans Salad by Pack- It Gourmet tonight. It was good. I resupplied at the hostel for this stretch. Butterfly continues on with me. I’m looking forward to the girls coming from WHHB, beginning next weekend! When we are finally all together, we will represent Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri and Indiana. Watch out, AT! Here we come.

We ( Butterfly and I) stayed at Burke’s Garden Hostel, an Amish built barn nestled in a beautiful valley surrounded by Amish farms.  ( I’ll post pictures soon on my fb page).  

Slept great in the bunk room.   Got everything dried out from our two days of rain.  There was frost on the ground this morning!   So glad  to be inside last night.   As the morning progressed, all the other hikers left except us.   I did my laundry and couldn’t find one of my socks.  I know how socks are!   It will show up somewhere!  🧦 

🦋 Butterfly had laundry trouble too.   She couldn’t figure out why her  clothes weren’t wet when the buzzer went off after it was through cycling.   Then she discovered she’d put the dirty clothes and laundry pod in the dryer instead of the washer!   The washer & dryer are positioned opposite of what you would think.   I was fortunate enough to recognize the washer because it’s just like my mother- in -laws. 

We finished our hiker chores and waited for the owner to take us to the little town of Burke’s Garden to the Amish store.   He texted me in the afternoon he wasn’t feeling well. He asked by text  if we’d like to take the side-by-side to town.   🤔😳👏We told him neither of us knew how.   I asked if it was stick shift or automatic.  He said it’s auto and it’s” easy to drive”.  So we agreed.   How nice of him to trust us with this vehicle!  We didn’t even know which direction town was, but we were ready for adventure.   I grabbed my Sambob hoodie and wallet.  We climbed in.   

🦋Butterfly decided to drive- she was braver than me.  I’m trying to find out where this town is by googling it.  Here we are,  surrounded by horses and barns and on a country road in the hills.   No town in sight.   

Meanwhile, she is trying to get the thing out of park.   Too many buttons and shifters.   The heat was on from the early morning shuttle, but I found the switches to turn it off.   The light on the dash said park.  We wanted reverse.   Oh brother!   🤷🏻‍♀️We kept fiddling with it.   I got hot and took off the hoodie.   There was the sock!   🧦Well that mystery is solved!😂😂

We shut the thing off.   I called Kenneth and Butterfly starts googling how to start this Kawasaki contraption.  Kenneth gave us a couple of pointers.  We tried it and the Google suggestion.   No luck.   I thought to myself, “ If we can’t get the thing out of gear, how we ever going to drive it to town and back??!!   🧐

We went back in the hostel.   I decided I’d clean the place up and get it ready for new guests.   Then the owner came out.  I had called and left him a message about not being able to get it out of gear.  He showed Butterfly how to do it.  Then he shut it off and went back in the house.   We hopped in for “ take 2”!  I started googling again for how to get to the town.   Butterfly turns the key and nothing.  She tried and tried.   Then we start pulling knobs and shifting gears.   Finally, we get the combination just right!   

I’m thinking, “ ok we will have to do this again, to get us home!”   So, we start moving in reverse down the driveway.   So far, so good.  Then I can’t decide which way Google is telling us to go.  So we start to turn one way then it looks wrong.   So she pulls forward to go the other way.   Finally we are on the road.   Now she’s having trouble getting it to move forward more than 1 mph.  The vehicle is going ggggrrrrrrrr.   Like it doesn’t want to go.   We decide it’s right.  We were concerned we’d tear up the transmission or something.   

Since reverse was better ( faster) she backed it all the way back down the driveway.  We made it about 10 feet down the road toward the Amish town!  🏆 

They do have e-bikes 🚲 here, but since neither of us have done those either, we decided to play it safe and stay on solid ground!😂😂

We cleaned the hostel instead.

When I get home, Denny Duzan is going to have to give me lessons on a side-by-side just in case I have opportunity to go to an Amish town in one!

May 4-5:  Sunday and Monday- days of beautiful hiking, resting and enjoying an Alpaca Farm.

Sunday was a big day.  I needed to get to the Long Neck Lair hostel in Atkins so I didn’t have to sleep out in the cold again.   I was motivated!  So I left Partnership shelter and hikers away.   It was a rocky steep climb up Glade mountain, a 4000 footer.  The terrain finally settled into a meadow like ridge on top for aways then descended.   I arrived at the Chatfield memorial shelter for a break.   It was 2:30.   No room for tents here.   No privy or bear box.  Did have signal tho.   Talked to my trail buddies- Kenneth and Kris.   They gave me the encouragement I needed to keep moving on.   The trail did settle down after that. No more rocks to work through and trip around. I came upon the 1890 farmstead and schoolhouse. There was trail magic!  I took a Gatorade and a chocolate cookie.  🍪 yum!   The bathroom was open too.  I then crossed the meadow and climbed up the next big hill fueled by the trail magic.   Soon I crossed a train track and could see up on the hill the Alpaca place.   But one had to follow the trail into town first.  I arrived at the Mexican place for supper about 5:45 pm.   Then went the 0.3 miles to the Alpaca farm.   It was a climb uphill but interesting, as the Alpacas were watching me.

Once in the bunkhouse I met two lady hikers.  They both had the trail name Butterfly.  I introduced myself and we had some small talk but it was time for all good little hikers to go to bed.  After all, it was after 7 pm when I got there.  I chose a bottom bunk then we all went to sleep.  The bunks were really nice. Privacy curtains, your own plug in’s, a light and a fan.   The pillow and mattress were super comfortable.   I slept like a baby.

Monday, Butterfly from Louisiana went slack packing.  Butterfly from Wisconsin wasn’t feeling well so she took a zero day.  I did my chores- laundry, washed dishes and flushed my water filter.  I worked on my blog, read my Bible and watched my church’s on line service.  When Butterfly from L came back, we had really good conversations getting to know each other and talking about the Lord.  We prayed for Butterfly from W.  We ordered pizza and cheesecake and had it delivered.  We also went down with Cindy, the owner, to pet the alpacas.  They also have angora goats, chickens, a black cat and a poodle.  The setting of this farm is just beautiful.

Today, Butterfly from L is doing her last slack packing then heading home.  Butterfly from W feels much better Ptl!  She has decided to hike with me today.  We prayed together before we left.  What a special time it was to be with these ladies.