Hike Together: Meetup: Day 13 – Saturday 7/25/2920 – 1474.6 – started clear, overcast, after rain, clearing by late afternoon. Today I slept in, BECAUSE JUSTIN IS HIKING WITH ME! We left camp at about 6:10 am. Justin drove the Jeep to the trailhead which is 0.6 miles up the road. I hiked it because I want to have a continuous set of footsteps from Mexican border to the Canadian border – the entire trail. We left the trailhead together at 6:30 am. We immediately had to climb. I had to hike while counting 25 right-foot steps, then pause, catch breath, and repeat. Up and up we went. Finally it was flatter and I could breathe regularly. We hiked through wet marshy meadows getting our feet wet. It was a single track trail. I was in front of Justin who hiked behind me, because I hike slower. We passed many water sources. I learned that Justin’s vision is much better than mine. He could see the trail markers that are much farther ahead which kept us on trail. There was less need for relying on the Guthooks mapping app. The trail was marked very well. The next climb wasn’t so bad. Then we had a very steep long descent. At 11:30 am we stopped for lunch at the last water before our planned Tentsite stop. It started to rain so we rushed on. Then began another climb. I was getting tired and had to again count 25 steps and pause. We finally arrive at the site at about 2:15 pm. In the rain we rushed to put our tents up. Afterwards I climbed into my tent and Justin into his. I got off my wet shoes and socks and put on warm socks and camp shoes. I was exhausted, sweaty and chilled. So I laid down. Surprisingly I took a nap with my sleeping bag partially over me for additional warmth. I was asleep for for 2-3 hours. During that time Justin tried to talk to me, but I didn’t respond. He was also surprised that I had conked out. So he did things around camp. Finally around 5 pm I begin to wake up. He had made a wonderful fire. So I got out of my tent and stood in front of the fire, because I was still chilled. The fire felt so good. Next he made and we ate dinner. Finally he put the fire out. We got into our tents for the night. Wow! What a day. The tough climbs, the massive descent, the cold rain, and the long nap. All quite unusual. Tomorrow Justin will retrace his hike back northbound to the Jeep while I hike on southbound by myself. It was a lovely day and I’ll miss him.
