The bed in the Roosevelt Room was so comfortable and warm that getting up was a challenge (this seems to be a trend).  But, since we only had 11 miles on the schedule, we figured we should enjoy the luxury while we could.

The hiking today was relaxed and beautiful and, dare I say it, fun.  The weather wasn’t too hot, either, which made it all the more enjoyable.  We hiked about 5 CDT miles and then made the decision to check out the brewery we noticed was mentioned on the FarOut app (that’s what we mostly use to help us navigate out here).

Because the brewery is more than 3 miles off-trail, I wasn’t so keen on going (I mean, who wants to add more miles?).  But after looking at various maps we realized that we could take some forest service roads to the brewery and not really add any extra miles to our hike.  Is it going to leave us with a long 23-mile hike tomorrow? Yes.  But because the way the water sources are spaced out, if we didn’t go to the brewery we would have had to do 22 miles today instead.  So we figured we might as well do the long day on the last day, when our packs are the lightest.

The walk was great - once we got on the forest roads we actually hiked together (crazy!) and had lunch together and listened to music together.  It was so fun!  I even met a horse.  I named her Penelope - Penny for short.

When we got to the Ravenswing farm/brewery, I was surprised and elated to see Rocks and Machelle.  It felt like it was meant to be.  We spent the whole afternoon chatting and reminiscing and getting to know each other better.

And eating. 

And drinking.  :)

Mark and Mary even joined us for a bit, which was great.  They brought us treats, too, because of course they did.  :)

Ravenswing is a new small farm brewery, which means that a lot of hikers don’t know about it yet.  It isn’t a Place Hikers Go, like Hikertown or Casa de Luna on the PCT.  But it will be, of that I’m certain.  Not only do they have beer, but they have an outdoor, solar-powered shower (which means hot water for the duration of your shower if you know how to conserve water), a place to charge devices, a field for tents, and even a clean outhouse, which is an amazing luxury.  It is a delightfully rustic place with a great vibe.

Gabriel and Paige are extremely kind, gracious hosts.  They even made us food (but they were careful to say they don’t always as to not disappoint future hikers).  In short, stopping here was a highlight of the hike thus far.

It was an excellent day spent with excellent people!

Along the trail:

Camp: