Day 26 April 21

This morning I had a leisurely start to my day. I got out of my tent around 7:30am but didn't hit the trail until 9:30. It was nice to sleep in and lay around waiting for the sun to dry my tent. Last night was an exciting night as it was my first night in 25days where I didn't have to wake up and blow up my thermarest. There really isn't any other way to describe it except for fantastic!!!!! I had such a great night sleep. One that was much needed. Puddin, Patty cakes and I all started out together. Before we left we all weighed our packs Patty cakes was 37lbs, puddin's was 32 and mine was down to 33. It is amazing how 7 pounds can make such a difference. Shortly after being on the trail we ran into Frenchie (another Canadian) and the Germans who were "stealth" camping in the woods outside of the town limits. Frenchie also fell ill to the virus and as a result has lost 15lbs. Sadly, he is currently contemplating leaving the trail and heading home. I hope he is feeling better and we all gave him air hugs (a hug from afar to avoid contact) before heading down the trail.
On more positive note the terrain was quite relaxed today and we were able to cover ~17.5miles with relative ease. We were even able to enjoy a two hour hiatus on top of a bald called beauty spot gap. Here Sleeping beauty was able to catch up to us after spending the night with his parents. And he told tales of warm showers, hot tub soaks, and scrumptious meals...ah to have a real meal. Unfortunately Nova got a late start and we didn't see her again after leaving the hostel. Hopefully she'll catch up further down the trail.