4 Pines Hostel

7/25
Started at Sarver Hollow Shelter
Ended at 4 Pines Hostel
22.8 miles

Passed Sinking Creek Mountain, the northernmost spot on the trail where the route crosses a continental divide. Water flows west to the Gulf of Mexico and flows east to the Atlantic Ocean.

Next we passed the Audie Murphy Monument, at exactly the half way point of today's hike. Murphy was the most decorated American soldier of World War II. His single handed captured of a large number of German soldiers made him a legend. He went on to star in many Hollywood war movies and westerns.

Next we hit Dragons Tooth, a rocky outcrop along the trail. It was a very rocky section, and popular with locals (and kids too). It was a steep climb up, and it was even steeper when we headed down the other side of the mountain. The kids did great but it was slow going after a full day of hiking.

The 4 Pines Hostel is not our type of place, but all our boxes made it (new shoes for the kids, food, and Big Sur Bars). The owner said the other hikers would probably bring back beer, and having kids and also not being a drinker I was not thrilled. It is funny how the Hostel takes on the personality of the owner. The Hostel had two fridges and a sign about beer rules. It also had a wall of tools, and was located in a converted 3 bay garage. It also smelled and had 3 dogs, one was roped to a bed. We were not staying in that environment, but he had a barn on the property we could stay in. After Harvey got 5 ticks in the barn we pitched the tent on a hill overlooking the property. The tent spot is awesome, with great views all around and we can actually see the stars! The drawback is the noise from the road.

Today Sydney asked for a savings account for her 10th birthday (what a great idea). We talked about banking for at least an hour (credit cards, checking accounts, FDIC, interest, loans). Pete went on and on about Pillow Pets, and Harvey was our leader most of the day. Harvey and Sydney split leading while we went up the biggest hill of the day, but Harvey carries most of the leadership responsibilities on a normal day.

Today was different from the last few days because we ran into many hikers. Many we have not met before. A few seemed to be hiking slow, 7 mile days and complaining about it. I don't think anyone hiked more than us, they also didn't shave, shower, of laundry more than us. I don't know if that is true or not, but the inside of the hostel smelled like it was true. We saw Benadryl again but he didn't catch us, hopefully we can talk with him tomorrow.