Temps were cool today; low to mid-teens C. Windy at the top and misty rain a few times. Actually, though...... pretty ideal conditions for walking.
Gary's cold got the better of him today so he rode with the luggage to tonight's accommodation. Sheila's husband drove the rest of us to where we came off the trail yesterday. Although he's a local, it seemed that he had never been down that particular road before. Sheila had won a reward trip at work to upstate NY so she preparing for a trip to the Toronto area as well as the northeast US and seemed to be quite concerned about encountering mosquitoes. I gave her my bottle of DEET that I had carried all trip but had had no reason to use. She was thrilled! Later in the day Gary realized that he had left his camera behind and Sheila's hubby drove it all the way to tonight's destination - nice.....
The guidebook made this out to be one of the more difficult days of the entire trip but it really wasn't bad at all. Yes, there were some long ascents (but not as long as at home) but not really high elevations. Some steep ups & downs, but nothing we haven't done before. We spent quite a bit of time today actually walking on the dyke. Kind of cool, but in the trees so not great views to be had. We walked through some really lovely forests - larch trees, lime trees, other tall trees on either side and a nice path through the middle. The first hour and a half or so was quite flat and then the hills started after that.
Probably the best view all day was coming into Newcastle (before the last steep descent).
Pretty easy navigating today - no "add-ons", no GPS checks. We were in the hotel by about 4. Gary is looking much better. We had a lovely roast beef dinner and a free bottle of wine for putting up with a bit of a plumbing problem. We sat in the pub and chatted until well after the barkeep went home. "If you want another drink just help yourself and let us know in the morning". Another old place and great people. Last day tomorrow..............
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