We had an intentionally slow morning as we waited for the sun to do it’s radiation thing and dry stuff out. The mud did cake up and was easy enough to knock off our poor bikes, but it took a couple hours to dry everything out and get our drivetrains in fully working order. In light of another threatening afternoon forecast, we made the call to take some pavement alternates to make up mileage and get to Del Norte for a resupply. The day went by quickly and pleasantly enough. We could see walls of dark clouds in the mountains that were on our actual route, and we felt pretty good about our choices. Alyssa decided to take pavement all the way into town so she could take care of some bike stuff, but Megan, our trail friend Jeff and I diverted back onto a bit of gravel for a scenic last 20 miles. Of course we got caught in a huge hailstorm, this time with no cozy hay barn. We huddled in a ditch in our rain gear- what a glamorous life we lead! Fortunately nothing lasts forever, and we were able to get back on our bikes as the storm ended and pedal the last few damp miles into Del Norte. We went straight to a brewery and warmed up with dinner and drinks, and set up a nicely sheltered camp in the town park.