September 20th, 2024
Mile Marker: 2143
Miles Hiked: 22
This morning we slept in till about 6:45. It was chilly and we only had 22 miles to hike so we took our time. Eventually the sun peeked up over the mountains and started to thaw us out.
While we were packing up, a dog came running up to us out of nowhere. We expected to see people walking up, but no one came. The dog even ran into our tent to greet Journey. She was adorable and then disappeared as fast as she arrived.
Lucy headed out before us and then before we left, two individuals came walking up with a dog on a leash and the one we saw earlier. The man claimed the dog wasn’t his but someone’s on the private land. He claimed that every time he comes up here (he is a wildlife biologist), that the dog follows and stays with him the entire time. How neat.
As we left camp, we continued in the valley away from the sun and noticed the thick frost layering the ground. I was trying to move quick to get back into the sunshine.
We ran across 3 men sitting out in the sun with mules all around them. They let us know there was 2 other hikers ahead of us. I have no idea what they were doing out there but it made us curious as who the first person was as we only knew Lucy was ahead.
We crossed a few water crossings and stepped into some muddy puddles and eventually made it to the water source 6 miles up. This was our last stop before we made it up and over the main pass.
From here the trail got steep and after a mile or so the trail disappeared and we were in bushwhack zone. It was incredibly hard going over dead trees at steep angles. It took us roughly 2 hours to go 2 miles up. The longest and hardest bushwhack yet.
Once at the top we were rewarded with stellar views and cold winds. But it wasn’t raining so I would take it any day.
We hiked on for a few hours over a ridge section. It was breathtaking and long as we waited to eat lunch until we dropped down to a lake.
It was around 2:30 when we finally stopped for lunch and we were all pooped. Today took it out of us and we still had roughly 9 more miles to go.
We took a long lunch then slowly headed out. I listened to podcast for most of the day which makes a weird time warp as my mind was distracted.
We hiked slower than usual, respecting our bodies and knowing we would make it to camp eventually.
We passed our last water source for the night around 7 and put on some extra layers for the last couple of miles, it was getting chilly quick.
As we continued on and the sun started to set, we got epic views of a sunset and the sky changing colors. Views like these can bring tears to my eyes. How beautiful, how lucky we are.
Eventually we made it to camp around 7:30 and made dinner. As we were cooking and darkness took over the sky, we noticed frost starting to cover the ground.
Oh boy!
It is going to be a very chilly night and I am hopeful we can stay warm. Thankfully we just have a couple miles to hitch into town tomorrow!
Fingers crossed.
Iz and Oz
Izzy + Ozzy 