How long can I live at a Motel 6? I try to figure out my options. I need to stay off my leg, my cash is tight, and I’m bored. My super-cool mother-in-law, Sandy lives about an hour and a half away. I call and try to get a sense of her schedule. I tell her about my leg and she says she’ll give me a call back. An hour later she has arranged everything. She and her friend, Marcia, are on their way to pick me up.

We stop at Bear Manor Café for some enormous food (plus, I end up eating half of the giant pancake that belongs to the women sitting at the table next to me). I chat with some hikers. One of them seems to have the same injury. We’re both going to rest and then get back on the trail.