The church parking lot was pretty slanted last night and I kept sliding off my groundsheet. It was the warmest night since the desert (woke up pretty sweaty) and a nearby streetlight was shining on me all night. Despite all that, I slept pretty well and even slept in until just past 6.
The church is right next to the town bathrooms where there were also some power outlets. I plugged in my stuff and went to take care of a few chores. I finally re-velcroed my shoes so my gaiters will stay on. I’m hoping we don’t have to do much sliding around in the snow, since that’s what made them fall off.
Eventually, the general store opened and we went to have breakfast. They didn’t have a breakfast menu, just the same stuff as lunch and dinner. I had a corn dog with curly fries, cherry coke, and a chocolate milkshake. We kept charging our phones and enjoying wifi until the post office opened. I sent my microspikes back to REI since they broke.
After pounding a Red Bull, it was time to hit the trail. We had a 4000 foot climb out of town but it didn’t seem all that bad. After the climb we followed a ridge above some beautiful lakes. You could see people camped at them and out boating and swimming in them.
As we get farther north, there’s less and less snow. My friend Splash who is further ahead said there’s almost no snow left. I’ve been taking pictures every time we cross a patch so I can see what mile it actually finishes. This is at mile 1214.8.
Shortly after this last snow patch we came across a dirt road and a truck. A man was there with some hikers. He gave us some beer and the other two hikers turned out to be the ones doing trail magic with their parents about 1100 miles ago. They skipped up north and are on their way back.
We camped on top of a ridge in a large field. I pitched right on the dirt road since it was the flattest spot. Hopefully nobody shows up during the night. The sunset was beautiful and we had a bit of a photoshoot before going to bed.
