Day 24

May 2

Mile 347 - Mile 364.5

Mountains in the morning.

We woke up super early today, around 5am, to try to get some more of the climb done before the heat. We felt pretty beat after our late night hike last night but  we knew any miles we could do before the sun was high would be much easier than later in the day.

Water cache we found shortly after waking up. Caches are a hotly contested topic currently because hikers grow to rely on them, which can be potentially very dangerous then if they are not refilled. A lot of folks think the trail would be better (and safer) without them.

Butterfly along the way.

We climbed and climbed for about 10miles as the landscape finally began to change again.

Walking through an old burn area we navigated around some of the dreaded Poodle Dog Bush, a plant that gives those who touch it a really nasty rash. Once again pine trees began to appear on the ridge line at about 6500ft and we stopped for a siesta from 11-3pm to wait out the heat. After a nap we were ready to go again and set out to finish the last 9 or so miles to water. This section, of course, was still all up. 

Around 6pm we reached Guffy Campground where our water was. Before Mike and I could assess the water situation, Sparrow, who had gone ahead of us earlier, came over the ridge and told us he'd made some friends at the campground and they'd like to have us for dinner over at their site. Trail magic!

We spent the evening with Rechelle and Trevor who were out for the weekend with their dog, Bandit. We had some great conversation as we stood close to their fire as a chilly wind began to blow up over the ridge. They shared with us an excellent dinner of hamburgers, filet mignon, corn on the cob, and potatoes. It was a great meal and they were very generous with everything they had.

After two tough days on the trail, the kindness of these two refreshed our spirits and reminded us of the unexpected opportunities that the trail can provide if you remain open to experiences. It was well past hiker midnight when we said goodnight to our new friends and headed to bed.