Get me the heck away from this house and the dogs! They gave me barely a moment of peace until around 3 am. Then one would return sporadically through the night. I only got 3-4 hours of sleep at the most so I was on the road at 7 with the mutts barking goodbye.

It was a chilly morning. In fact looking back, the afternoon was chilly too at least while I was in the shade. Since most of the time I was in the sun I took my fleece jacket off after lunch at a little local grill where I talked with a few people at the next table. One of the older guys has a friend in nearby Winston that thruhiked the AT so he was understandably curious about this trip of mine. I've become a real MST ambassador lately.

Another AT savy guy is right here where I'm staying. He was talking about taking his sons on it. He sure didn't know what to make of me as I walked up and introduced myself. I think his exact words were "That's a little bit of a strange request". Regardless he granted me a spot for my tarp tent. There is something about him that seems vaguely familiar, but I cannot figure out what it is. In stark contrast to last night's hosts, he was so concerned about his dog barking that (I think) he ran into town special to get me earplugs! Granted Eureka is only a mile away but that still is hard-to-believe nice. I'm not even close to where the dog is. That dog which hasn't even made one sound yet would have to be inside the tent barking in my face to be worse than last night. Earlier when I was still scouting for a camping spot, a couple of his relatives recommended his house to me. I'm glad I found it.

Now time to make up on lost sleep.