Buck's Lake - Bleden 8/1/10 23 miles

It felt so amazing to sleep in an actual bed last night at the Williams's, have a full belly of real food, have new shoes and most of all be refreshed by the company of such an extremely fantastic family that made us feel at home!We woke up this morning to a nice, hot breakfast of pancakes, bacon, eggs and deliciously locally grown, fresh, juicy peaches. And we though our stay with them couldn't get any better than last night! Chris, Picks Up Stones ad I ate and shared some laughs with Terry and Dennis. We began packing up and said our goodbyes to Picks Up Stones, as he left for his southbound adventures. I really enjoyed meeting him, such a sweet soul. He is 60 years old, and doesn't look a day over 45. One of the nicest, most genuine folks we've met on the trail. Time for us to go now. We were so thankful for everything the Williams's had done for us! There are wonderful people! Nancy drove us to the trailhead, we thanked her and went on our way. For our first few hours of walking, I continued to think about all of the hospitality that that family had shown us and they asked for nothing in return. That's what it's all about, just helping others out when you can. I have witnessed more of this while on the trail than I have seen in a very long time. Just like Bill and Margaret at the Red Moose, the Williams's kindness will positively impact all of us who stayed with them, and we will show the same to others. We had some beautiful views today, but saw the smoke of a forest fire in the distance for most of the day. It didn't seem to be slowing down. Many helicopters carrying water were in and out. We began our walk down into Belden, an endless section of switchbacks down the ridge. Chris was on poison oak patrol, as he pointed out every bit that he saw. We decided to camp at the bottom, at the equestrian camp, and we would get our resupply box from Sarah H. in the morning. As we got comfy and made dinner from the tent, a hiker with his companion, Burley the Donkey, walked up. No, that's not a trail name, it was a real donkey : ) This guy was hiking southbound with Burley and told us all about it. I got out of the tent and had to pet him! My next pet may now be a donkey! I fell in love. He was so gentle and calm! Box tomorrow!! -KB