Wednesday, Aprill 26, 2006
We changed the procedure. Joe and I drove his car to the starting point while the ladies stayed home. He had arranged for Lisa’s stepfather to pick us up at the end, so she and Marty did not need to come this time. We started walking about 10:30 a.m. and reached Cline Hill Summit (elevation 770 feet) half an hour later, then started down the east side of the Coast Range. Considering the mountains between here and Charleston, this does not even count as a warm-up.
The road was wide with plenty of room for walking on the side most of the time. Joe was favoring a couple of blisters, so we took it easy. Halfway through the walk we stopped at a little store at Burnt Woods. The air inside was thick with cigarette smoke in flagrant violation of state law. Joe bought a corn dog and candy bar, and I had a ham and cheese hot pocket (which we ate outside). We left Lincoln County and entered Benton County, following the Tumtum River, then crossed Marys River just before the end at Blodgett. Allen arrived ten minutes later. He and Joe drove back to pick up Joe’s car while I ate a chicken tamale outside at a picnic table.
