The total mileage was 20.6 and it took just over 9 hours. It was a mild day but not when you're walking with a pack and in the sun. But if I were laying in a hammock with mint juleps off to the side, it was perfect weather.
We had another walker with us for a time being. It was quite unexpected. We were standing around consulting our map when a dog some 30 feet away took one look at us and bolted our way as if we were his long lost owners. For a second I thought that he was hungry instead, but his tail was wagging. He was very friendly but henros cannot have pet dogs. We didn't know what to do except ignore him. The strategy didn't work. It was like ignoring mosquitoes. He followed us for some 30 minutes. Just before we reached the main road where we were concerned that the dog would get run over, we passed an apartment house where a lady was standing next to her car. She looked at us and “our dog.” She had the strangest look on her face, as if she was thinking, “Henros with a pet dog?” Our dog took some interest in her and trotted her way. It was our moment and we made a mad dash up the main road to get out of sight. Can you envision henros with packs trying to run up a grade? We did the best we could. I was afraid to look back for quite some time but when I finally did, we were alone. “Yokatta.” A fellow henro had the same experience but the dog didn't follow him as long. He said that there is a legend that dogs sometimes guide henros to the next temple, but he didn't think that this dog was like that. Emi and I didn't think so either.
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