Meetup: Day 40 – Friday 8/21/2020 – 1933.6 – clear, sunny, hot, some clouds. I woke at 5:00 am. I left Justin sleeping in his pop-up tent on the forest road. I made it over to Monarch Pass without incident. The trail was relatively easy today. No monster climbs or descents. Sure there were some but nothing significant. Because it’s Friday there was group upon group of mountain bikers. A typical pack is 2 to 6 riders. I always have to step off trail, which is a pain. It was so busy that I must have seen 20-30 of them. At lunch I met Chief and Luke, both Colorado Trail hikers. I didn’t get water at the last source so had to go another 4.4 miles to get some water. But then there were no campsites at the water. Chief went back to find a site. Instead went forward to find one. With my pack loaded with water I continued down the trail. In a short time I saw a hill crest with trees on it. I climbed up looking for a somewhat flat campsite and found one. Dunno where Luke went to camp. I never saw him again. Now I only have 10 miles to Justin. If the weather is sunny tomorrow I’ll take a shower and do laundry at the Jeep.
