Date: 2012-06-12
From: Reed's Gap = Devil's Backbone

To: Cedar Cliffs
Miles today: 4.3

I woke up early and was feeling much better but the rain was still falling in sheets on the old roof of the coffee house. I decided to make some coffee and sipped it from my mug on the covered porch looking out at the immense amount of rain out there. I went inside and journaled some in the light streaming in through the big old windows. The manager from the night before came over and woke us up with a surprise. He had called in his staff to come and make us breakfast. They don't even have breakfast on the menu. But they do have everything you could desire after the night we had drinking. It is amazing how versatile, bacon, eggs, veggies, thick-cut toast, butter, and coffee is on restaurant menu. We had no idea how much it was going to cost but couldn't imagine asking, or saying no to such a nice gesture.We ate breakfast until the lunch crowd started making their way in. It was glorious but we all knew the trail was in our future. As a group, we tried to decide what to do. I am always that guy who pushes the envelope, just to see how badly want to do things. There was talk of double-digit miles, single-digit miles, what shelters were up ahead, if we could pack out growlers.. and then I made my suggestion. I mentioned that there was a winery just down the road, we could go wine tasting, do dinner at the brewery, and then hit the trail for some evening miles when it would be cooler. It was unanimously agreed upon that this was the best idea. I declared us officially brew-blazers. Then our bill came. It was on the house. We couldn't believe it. The day could not have been better. And then the rain stopped. We walked over to the coffee house to pack up a little and all of the clouds went away. So up the road we went to the winery. We tasted their selection, bought a few bottles, purchased some local cheeses and meats, rented a cutting board and headed out to the river to be merry. This was what it was all about.We met Robbie and Beth Jones as well as David "Weenie" and Joan Miller out for an afternoon of sunshine and wine too. They were a riot. We joked around with them for hours until it was nearing dinner time. Back we went. All of us. PMo, Semplesee, and I sent the Bonnie and Clyde foursome a cheese plate and they sent us some Hazy Summer.Just when you think that this day couldn't get any better, it did. In a huge way. Cheetah and Mange got dropped off in a pick-up truck in the parking lot. I haven't seen these guys since our incredible stay at the NOC. Also, they had a dog. And a new friend, Sherbert. We had a very nice reunion, but I was heading out and Cheetah and Mange were staying. We wished them well glad that they could meet PMo and Semplesee.We got a hitch on the second car, a blue Corolla. Andy shared a basket of blueberry muffins with us. His secretary bakes them for him and they were fresh today. Just one more treat to let you know that you are in exactly the right place. We got to night hiking, and I took a big fall on my bum. Sore but ok, I caught back up to PMo and Semplesee. We saw the group that left before us: King, Jiffy, Hot Wheels, and Trooper were all hanging out by a fire they had made in the only good camping spot in sight. We were coming up on Cedar Cliffs where camping is prohibited for several miles. So we did what any hiker would do in this situation, and snuck up on them. Headlamps off, we let our night vision strengthen and snuck down the hill to where they were camping. We walked right up, until we were standing directly next to them. Then they noticed and let out a bunch hoots and screams. We moved on after that but I am sure they were glad we said hello. Down the trail, the three of us found a place to camp, setting up late under the big clear skies, while the trees dripped big droplets of water down on us.