Hiking Together: Meetup: Day 53 – Thursday 9/3/2020 – 2132.3 – clear, sunny, hot. Justin and I woke at my normal 5 am, packed up in our limited campsite among the pines, and were on trail with headlamps at 5:50 am. I kept my puffy and gloves on. We immediately began to climb. By the end of the climb I had to take my puffy off. I was too hot. The rest of the day the climbs and trail were more forgiving. The weather was pleasant or maybe a bit warm. We stopped to talk to an archer hunter with a compound bow looking for elk. During one descent as I focused on the trail immediately in front of me I ran into a log hanging partially over the trail. OMG! When I collided I saw stars. My hat brim shielded me from seeing it. Justin looked and saw I had a dime sized scrap on my head. Justin applied Neosporin to it. Although shaken by the very sudden impact luckily I wasn’t hurt. Further down the trail we met and talked to several day hikers. Even though the weather and trail was good I was tired. For the final descent to Wolfe Creek Pass Trailhead I again let Justin lead. What was especially exciting to both of us was we were going to town for a zero day. In town we bought two pizzas then went to the hotel. As Justin unpacked his stuff I went in and took a hot shower. It was marvelous. Then Justin did our laundry, a stinky mass of hiking clothes, in the hotel machines. Just having this little oasis from the trail and his help with chores was such a relief. I made telephone calls to Katie and Kathy and Justin called Stephanie. All is well with the world – or at least the small corner that we’re in.
