It rained all night, which was nice for sleeping but slowed us up this morning because we took the time to dry off the tent before packing it away.  

The ~6 miles to the road went by fast, and when I got there Nick had already secured us a ride.  We had been planning to take the bus into town; however, Monk (the guy whose buff I found and returned) had just gotten dropped off by his AT friend Freefall, and Freefall was ready and willing to give us a ride to Breckinridge.  During the ride, Freefall kept saying it was meant to be, which made me smile to myself.  

Freefall dropped us off at the post office so we could get our resupply package, which was perfect.  Even more perfect, there was a grocery store next door to the post office.  After sorting through our package, we went next door to the store for supplemental snacks (I also got myself an apple and a kombucha).  We were done with our resupply by 10:30.  Next stop: lunch.

Special K recommended a pizza place, but when we walked by a burger place (the name escapes me at the moment), we both decided we were craving a burger. They didn’t open until 11, so we walked around town a little first.

Breckinridge is a very nice, clean, beautiful town but it is also very touristy.  There were so many people that I felt very anxious to get back on the trail - this is most likely because we didn’t have enough time on the trail to really want/crave a day in town.  I was also antsy to get back on the trail because I wanted to get in sufficient miles to position us close to the high peaks so we wouldn’t be summiting them in the afternoon, when the storms and rain typically roll through.  

Our burgers, though, were great.  

After lunch, we walked (in the rain) to a few outfitters, looking for a liteload towel to replace the one Nick left in Leadville.  We didn’t have any luck, so we made our way to the bus as it drizzled.  I was really hoping to get back on the trail by 1, but according to the app Nick downloaded we had just missed the 12:45 bus.  

I was bummed but Nick was happy because it meant he had time to get some ice cream.  Which he did.  Then we walked back to the station to wait for the 1:45 bus.

We missed the 1:45 bus, too, even though we were at the station before it got there and after it left (we both misinterpreted the app and, as it was raining, had been sitting inside so we didn’t see it).

I was reminded of the time I was backpacking around Europe with my soul sister Candee and we spent an entire day in the train station in Nice because it was pouring rain.  I handled the situation much better back then.  Today, I was… frustrated.  I just wanted to get back on the trail already.    

Rather than wait another hour just sitting at the station, we attempted to hitch back to the trail.  In the rain.  It was a silly idea.  After about 20 minutes of no luck, we admitted defeat and walked back to the station to wait for the 2:45 bus.  It had stopped raining by then so we waited outside this time.  We didn’t miss the 2:45 bus, thank goodness (I think I would have lost my mind.)

Once finally back at the trailhead (we had walked back there to reconnect our footsteps), we made our way to the trail.  The first 0.5 miles felt pretty bizarre because the trail went through some condos, but soon enough the town was behind us.  It was a busy trail full of mountain bikers and day hikers, but at least it was the the trail.  

Since we started hiking later this afternoon than I expected, we didn’t make it as far as I hoped.  However, we DID see some moose grazing on whatever it is moose graze on, so maybe it was all meant to be, like Freefall said. 

Along the trail:

Camp: