I woke an hour or two before dawn, too cold to sleep but too sleepy to put on another layer. At dawn the sky was crystal clear. I spread out my tent and sleeping bag to dry and hiked to the "lookout point" for sunrise, both of which turned out to be unimpressive.

I thought my goal of reaching Hermann today was modest at just over 34 miles, but between the headwind and the spongy trail and stopping to repack my bearings, I barely made it by dusk. Hermann is having Octoberfest this weekend, so there are drunk people all over. I hope they'll all be hung over tomorrow when I make my exit!

I did meet a nice young couple from Kansas City at the campground; they had been aiming for the Ozarks but saw signs for the wineries in Hermann and decided to stop. They shared the wine they had bought around their campfire.

distance: 39.2 mi