April 6, 2021
Zero
The new air mattress I ordered on Amazon still hasn’t arrived at the Post Office, which is not good. Fortunately, Ghosthiker and I decided early on yesterday that, seeing as how we’ve passed the halfway point of this hike and the last stretch was so long and draining, it was high time for us to take a double-zero! Our AirBnB wasn’t available for tonight, but I found a Quality Inn in nearby Payson that had a room. It might also have a pool or hot tub, which I’m excited about. At any rate, this will give us an extra day for my air mattress to arrive. I really don’t want to hike on without it and have to go through the challenge of getting it forwarded to the next town.
We got breakfast at HB’s, a very patriotically decorated diner with a very home-town feel to it. Once again, everything was delicious. Of course, when you’re hungry, everything is always delicious.
Peggy’s husband was at home today, so he very graciously offered to drive us to Payson! We packed our things, bid our nice little RV home goodbye, and were leaving Pine behind us around 10:00am. He dropped us at the Quality Inn where we discovered that there is a pool, but it is still closed for the season. Damn! I’ve found that I really enjoy an easy swim after a lot of hiking; it tends to help my sore muscles quite a bit. Oh well. We stopped at Sweet Country Charm for lattes and chocolates on our way to Walmart to pick up a few things in preparation to hike tomorrow.
We spent a little time lounging in our room, each in our own big, comfy bed, and then we met up with Bass for dinner at La Sierra Mexican restaurant across the street from our hotel. Drinks, too much food, and lots of fun. We decided to arrange a ride together back to Pine to get back on trail. Then it was back to the hotel. I ate the other half of my special brownie (the only food I didn’t eat on the trek between Roosevelt Lake and Pine) and then proceeded to take a short bath to soak my feet and legs with some muscle relaxing bath salts I bought at Walmart. Then I scraped my feet again, showered and shaved all the things, washed my hair and deep conditioned…all in preparation for another long stretch of hiking. It was lovely.
No pictures today. I was too busy enjoying a break!
Sarah Hikes 
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