The first five miles north of Springer was very easy, like walking through Prospect Park. The trail got a little steeper just before the Hawk Mountain shelter, 7.8 miles in. Walking in a light rain is not so bad at all. There were no bugs and it wasn’t hot.

There was a side trail that Bird had heard of. We saw it and walked about 100 yards off the trail to see a small waterfall (we left our packs). It’s actually not a bad size for this area as far as I know. Well worth the side trail.

We thought we’d stay at the Hawk Mountain shelter, but when we got there, it was full (as a few people coming the other way mentioned). We would have stayed in tents nearby, but the mood in the area was rotten; the people in the shelter were quite ornery. So after I checked my feet for blisters (nothing bad yet) we headed on.