As day 2 ended, the skies were blue and all was still quite right on the trail. I didn't get lost, and I figured out how to adjust my pack so that my left arm didn't feel like it was suffering from the bends. PRO TIP: tighten your waist strap as much as you can, so that the shoulder straps are barely touching your shoulders. Instant relief and the pack felt half empty. It also helps to be built with extra padding below the waist, so that the belt band nestled nicely in the curves. I knew they would come in handy someday... At my hotel, the Jubilee Inn, which was literally ON the trail, I was pleased to discover a fact that is common in the region - the inn owner was also an accomplished chef. I'm not a food-grammer, but this carrot-cashew-brie concoction was simply epic. The diet coke was the icing on this cake. My kind of vacation - strenuous physical exercise outdoors all day, followed by a shower and amazing vegetarian food, and sleeping with the windows open. The only catch to this paradise, however, was this lovely black cat in the photos. ALL NIGHT she cried and cried, and I was thinking some traveler must have insisted on bringing their cat, and said cat was not happy about not having access to the activities package in the chicken coop out back. Turns out it was a local cat, that had climbed into a window and gotten itself locked into a vacant guest room. How very English....

Only a few minutes into the morning, the clouds rolled in for the first time on the walk. I took a moment to cover the pack in plastic, prepare myself adequately, and then shoved off again sealed up in my waterproofs. At that point the rain stopped and I was basically a sweatbox until I gave myself a moment to strip back down. After that I determined that only a real rain warranted sealing things up again. The terrain on this part of the trail, south of South Moulton, was not exactly the breathtaking scenery of the Barle Valley and even the desolate expanse of Exmoor, but the forests are something I always love. On this day I realized that despite being really quite alone on the path and being in woods most of the day, I really didn't feel vulnerable. I would still occasionally pass a dog walker, German hikers in groups, or the random little old lady on her daily walk. The only snag on this day was that at the end of the route through the woods, the trail simply died out. The woods closed in as the trail ran near a small stream, and the maps showed it crossing over and up the ridge on the other side. It just didn't - I tried going through an orchard to get around, and that was just one dead end after another. I ended up accidentally going in a circle for almost an hour, before heading backward to a farm I could see above the orchards, and asking the woman working in the garden for directions. She pointed me to a road that connected back up to the trail, and as much as I loathed walking on asphalt, it got me back on route. I think that whoever was cutting back the trail with sharp clippers was probably a local who stopped for the day, and had they gone on a bit more through the spring growth, I might have been able to see the trail. Next time i'll know to forge on a bit before going off-course. Once I got to the next hotel, the real problem would rear its ugly head....

So I arrive at the Mitre Inn, which was lovely, food was stellar, quintessential English country pub, complete with an insistence by the innkeepers that I join them for trivia night. Normally I couldn't say no, but it started at 9pm, and I was so loving my quiet hotel room time after dinner, that I knew I would be passed out by then. Next trip I WILL be doing the trivia nights - i'll be prepared for the prospect ahead of time. The elephant in the room, that I knew had arrived earlier in the day, was this blister. It doesnt look too bad in the photos, but it was deep, and felt like an iron poker on the bottom of my foot with every step. I knew my socks would be an issue after I realized that they were too big, and pulled inside my boots - here's the proof. This brings me to one of my biggest tips for this blog. I knew I blister easily, so along with my bee sting epipen, my first aid must-have was a small sterile needle for popping them. I showered, drained the blister, and then applied coconut oil to my heel under a bandaid. I put coconut oil on everything, because it WORKS. In the morning I even added it to my other foot so that there was no friction regardless of sock size. Complete blister victory. Also, this inn was just perfect - highly recommend. Even the little nook over the stairs where I was able to get wifi and FaceTime the kids was charming. There was even a free washer and dryer!!! Shut the front door, seriously.

Day 4 dawned with a more significant threat of rain, but honestly this countryside looks like it was meant for rain, and the rain doesn't bother me. What I found funny, though, was how the trail wound through people's alleys and yards, complete with signposts. Again it's this charming mix of rural life, countryside, and human stuff. This was also the first of 3 days or so of extensive farmland walking. I didn't know that at the time, but I soon started thinking to myself 'if I see another pasture over this hill....' and that sort of thing. I did get to know the local livestock quite well, though...

I learned later that day to be careful to make sure there is no bull in the field, because some are known to be aggressive. my question then, is, what do you do if there IS a bull???

Day 4 ended quietly, no getting lost or anything silly like that. The blister was healing nicely, and I had a huge room at the Devonshire Dumpling to spread out in, wash clothes, etc. I knew that I really was off my eating game when the dinner with it's copious amounts of cajun chips just wasn't necessary. Really, nothing has killed my appetite more than walking 15 miles a day in hilly countryside. Or maybe it was all the trail mix and gluten free brownies I consumed during the mornings? Look at that breakfast spread, though - the owner put it together for me when I said I would pass on breakfast service because of the whole gluten free-vegetarian thing. I didn't even ask - such great service!

The Two Moors Way, PART 6,