It was warm when we woke up (well, warm for being 5am), which made me happy - it’s so much easier to pack up when you aren’t shivering and wishing you could stay in your warm quilt just a little longer.  I expected the day to be like the past few days have been - sunny and warm with blue skies - but I was dismayed when it got colder, not warmer, as the day went on.   It rained a little, too, but at least it didn’t snow (even though it felt cold enough to do so).

For the most part the hiking was fine, I guess.  It was colder than I would have liked and the trail was more overgrown than I expected (my poor legs are torn up again), but it was fine.  What wasn’t fine was the mile of blowdowns we encountered - the trail was a complete disaster.  I shouldn’t complain, though, because the SOBOs had to deal with miles and miles of blowdowns before the amazing trail crews cleared most of them.  While it would have been nice to not have to deal with any blowdowns at all, I feel like the trail crews left one mile for us NOBOs so we could share in the ‘fun’.   Props to all the SOBOs who suffered worse than we did today, I cannot imagine how awful it must have been for them.  I was annoyed with just one mile of blowdowns so 8+ miles of it would have been terrible.  

After getting past the blowdowns, it wasn’t long before we made it to Marias Pass, where we were getting picked up by our friend Erica.  I got there first, but only because Nick somehow took a wrong turn and ended up having to road walk a mile to get there.  

We only had to wait about 30 minutes for Erica, but it was a pretty cold wait (I huddled next to the bathroom to stay out of the wind).  I was elated when she got there - the best part of the day, besides seeing Erica, was getting into her truck, which was blissfully warm and comfortable inside.

(Erica worked with Nick as a SCUBA instructor at Lahaina Divers on Maui for a few years until she left to have adventures with her boyfriend, Denver.  They moved to Montana a few years ago and are two of the most interesting people I know - the places they’ve traveled, the things they’ve done, and the adventures they’ve had could fill several books.  Erica is an example of how amazing living a slightly unconventional life can be.  Just being in her presence is inspiring - she makes me want to do more, experience more, and be a better person in general.)

Once at Erica and Denver’s house in Whitefish (which is just stunning), we showered and took them out to dinner in an attempt to thank them for their kindness.  Since we didn’t want to wait for our clothes to finish washing, we borrowed some of theirs.  Erica gave me a pair of her jeans to wear - since I haven’t worn jeans since moving to Maui in February of 2017, it definitely felt weird to have them on.  Weird but good.  

Dinner at the Mexican restaurant was fantastic - Denver wasn’t wrong about it being delicious. Now I’m about to sleep on a comfortable bed with possibly the softest sheets I have ever had the pleasure of sleeping on.  As always, it feels good knowing I can sleep in as long as I want tomorrow. 

Fire Update:  There are a few fires around, but nothing too close to the trail so we should be ok.