Hartsburg

Let's just call this the Bataan death march. The "plan" was to make this a short, easy leg of 9.2 miles and relax next to the river. I finally arrived at the campground only to find it covered with silt from the flood. Silt means wet, mucky, and mosquitos. I asked the manager if there were any dry campsites, but there weren’t. I just knew I couldn't stay there. I asked if I could at least get a burger from the camp store. He informed me that he only sold food on the weekend. He was a real nice guy and dug in the freezer for a brat and cooked that up. The manager told me how the river had risen up the 9-foot embankment and dumped 4 inches of water into the store! No biggie, I'll move on to Wilton, only another 5 miles. It could still be a borderline easy day. I arrived at Wilton to find the campground overgrown in waist high grass, looked like tick heaven!!. I walked up the hill to the office and found the owners sitting on the porch swilling beer at 2 in the afternoon. The owners showed zero interest in renting a campsite and had to unlock the door to sell me a small bottle of Gatorade for $1.50. Not to be blasphemes but Jesus Christ. On to Hartsburg, another 4 mile away. It was hot and humid along that stretch of the trail. The sun was relentless on the open stretches and I was pretty much out of water when I arrived. I was emotionally and physically drained when I got there due to the sun, heat, and humidity. Jill called ahead and made a reservation at the Hartsburg Inn for me. The women said she would give me a room for $40.00 since it was empty and knew I would be tired. I showed up and obviously looked like hell from the look on her face. She showed me to the room and asked for the $40.00. I dug out every penny I had only to find I had $38.00! I about "pooped" my pants knowing the next campsite was another 3 miles down the trail at the Hartsburg Conservation area. I was totally exhausted and just couldn't walk another step. She said she'd settle for $30.00 and I could just mail her the balance. As God as my witness I thought I was going to cry.
I felt a lot better after a long cool shower, 3 liters of water, and 3 packs of Ramen noodles. I remember lying on the couch in my room for a minute and woke myself up by my snoring 2 hours later. The Inn is a beautiful, clean, converted house that reminded me of the old boarding houses you see in westerns. The owner Cath is a nice, thoughtful, awesome lady. Jill called the Inn that night and Cath brought a phone downstairs to me. I plan on staying there again when I go back to hiking the trail in short sections again. This is easily a 5 star place with fridge, couch, TV, microwave, coffee maker, and all the coffee, tea, and oatmeal you could consume in the room. Each fall Hartsburg has a pumpkin festival, I'll be there. On to Jefferson City where I'll meet Nate and Jill for a resupply drop and another night under a roof.