I slept hard and woke up feeling rested.

I get breakfast at the Wagon Wheel, biscuits and gravy and coffee! It’s so good!

I continue to catch up on blog posting. Professor is doing town chores. I sent myself my resupply so I can relax and blog.

It feels good to finally be able to post!

Dan is picking us up at 1:10pm to take us back to the trail.

I call Doug a few times, I miss him! It’s so nice having cell service. Don’t take it for granted!!!

I cram one more blog post in right as Dan pulls up.

It’s a dirt road all the way back to the Benchmark Wilderness turn off. Thank you so much for the ride Dan!

The Professor and I start hiking.

I’m so happy to be back out on trail!

There are a lot of downed trees and a big stream crossing to welcome us back though…. hahaha

The water is up to my mid thigh! And cold.

A hiker in his mid 70’s passes us. Incredibly strong looking hiker, just wow. His trail name is Salty Dog. I watch him get down on all fours and crawl under a downed tree with his full pack on. Is this guy for real?

He grumbles something at me.

“What’s that?” I ask.

“We having fun yet?” He responds.

(I’m pretty sure that’s not what he said first, but okay)

He then disappears around a bend in the trail. I’ll probably never see him again. The guy is a warrior. I feel like we just saw a mythical creature? I hope I can do hard things like this when I’m in my 70’s. Inspiring.

It feels late in the day and we start looking for campsites.

We eventually settle on a flat grassy area amidst a burn section.

There’s a small pass coming up that we’ll climb tomorrow.

I find a cozy spot to cook dinner. I eat some of the items Lua and Elis helped me pick out from Mitsuwa for dinner. So yummy! It hits the spot.

Thank you Lua and Elise!

The sun is still up but I hit my tent early. I’m set up in some grass so I hope I don’t get too much condensation.

My feet and knees feel really good from resting at town.

Next stop? Lincoln