Day 25: Mile 347.1 to mile 357.8 to Lake City

8.15.21 -

10.7 miles, +1,700 -2,500 ft

Segments: 21

After a very stormy night, where it did rain some more in the middle of the night, I woke up happy to see some stars peeking out and not many clouds in the sky. I did my usual morning routine and was hiking by 6 am. I only had 11ish miles to hike to the highway to get to Lake City, where I was going to resupply. There are many trail angels in town and they have a free shuttle that leaves town at noon and gets to the pass at 12:30 to bring hikers back and forth! So I didn’t need to hike super fast, but I figured it was worth getting to the road earlier to try to hitch into town earlier. 

The day started with a decently big and continuous climb. I was tired, but it felt easier than at the end of the day yesterday. As I reached the top of the first little saddle, I noticed some people in front of me. Which is usually odd since I feel like I’m always the first person on the trail! They had stopped up ahead so I was getting ready to just say hi and pass, but I heard them yell out “Squishy?!” And it was Alexis & Maia aka Stretch & Berry - who I met waaaayyy back by Kenosha Pass weeks ago, and hadn’t seen since we slackpacked back in Breck. It was so great reuniting with them. We caught up a bit on our hikes and hiked together for most of the morning. 

The climb really wasn’t too bad and it was super gorgeous. So many mountains and passes and still leftover hail from last night! After the climb finished, we slightly descended to Snow Mesa, a very large, flat-ish mesa covered in tundra, rocks, and some pothole ponds. We took a break at one of the ponds, marveling at the views of the mountains in the distance - the San Juans. We departed separately to continue our hikes across the mesa - dipping down to creeks and steeply climbing back up again for about 2.5 miles, and I caught up with them at the edge of the mesa, right before dropping down 1,500 feet to the highway. We all chatted with a cute older couple from Durango who were just out for the weekend day hiking and they told us the names of some of the mountains and about the geologic history of the area. They were so sweet and nice to talk to. After that, we quickly descended to the highway. I really needed to go poop and I wanted to use the pit toilet at the parking lot so I booked it! I did take a few moments to pick the yummy wild strawberries on the side of the trail though. 

Once we got to the road, it was so hot - in very stark contrast to the trail this morning. I used the bathroom and then the three of us stood on the shoulder of the highway, attempting to get a ride to town. Not many people were going that way. We did have 2 cars that were driving away from Lake City stop for us and give us hard seltzer/ beer/ soda/ snacks haha, which was a nice little treat while we continued to attempt to hitch. Roy (now going by Squid) got to the road about a half hour later, and after him came Bumble Bee and Splash - who I haven’t seen since Breck as well!! What a reunion. Those two are so nice. They are not stopping in Lake City though - they resupplied in Creede and will stop again in Silverton, so our reunion was short lived. 

Finally, a friend group with a big truck and van who were doing a point to point biking section came over to us and offered all of us (2 more ladies showed up too) a ride into Lake City. So the hitch took about 1 hour, but we got to town before the shuttle would get us there! Squid and I were in one car and they dropped us off right at the Raven’s Rest hostel, where we registered and claimed bunks. 

Then it was chore time. We showered, changed into the loaner town clothes, got our laundry together and went to the RV park to do it. The hostel had quarters to use, so we took those and did one shared load. As that was washing, we went and got food, finding Stretch and Berry there. After eating, we went back to the RV park, moved the clothes to the dryer, and walked to the sporting goods store. I treated myself to some mountain house meals for dinner this stretch and bought some fuel and bars. Next, we reclaimed our laundry, then back to the hostel, then to the grocery store to finish resupplying. The county store was a little sparse, but doable for the 3.5 day stretch to Silverton. As I was walking back to the hostel, a kind lady pulled over beside me and offered me a ride the rest of the way back to the hostel and then over to the church where the free hiker dinner was being held! So nice of her. She’s a trail angel & volunteers a lot and her family used to own the county store! She was so sweet. 

I got to the church dinner and felt bad because I wasn’t that hungry and my stomach actually kind of hurt. I chatted with one of the couples I met at Apple’s trail magic a few days ago (Stephanie & Steve I think? From the UP in Michigan). They were super kind and want to do the PCT soon - so we chatted about that and the differences between the trails. They are zeroing in town, so I don’t know if I’ll see them again! :(

Eventually, Squid, Stretch, and Berry showed up along with some other hikers at the hostel. We ate some food and chatted, and then it was time to leave. The 4 of us went to the amazing San Juan Soda Co ice cream shop and it was soooo yummy. I got a mint Oreo sundae. After eating, it was getting cold and late, so we went our separate ways back to our homes for the night. I cleaned off my bed at the hostel and laid down, just going through pics on my phone & calling my parents to nail down some final details about them picking me up. The day I arrive in Silverton is the day they will be leaving home! So we needed to discuss some logistics before they left. Finally, after scrolling through social media and refreshing the weather forecast for so long, it was time to sleep.