June 28, 2016 - I slept horrible as I kept moving around on the very rocky surface, if only I had been able to an actual campsite last night. The nice thing about not sleeping all that much was I was awake early and got to see the sunrise and get an early start to the day.
Starting off the mosquitos were bad like last night but I got moving quickly and got rid of them after a few miles.
Like yesterday the morning was basically in the woods with no views and with a slight uphill which wasn’t too bad. Then after about 10 miles I started to leave the woods and hike out in the open. Once out of the woods it started to get steep again but was rewarded with some great views of where I would be heading.
The last hard climb of the day was up the Elephant Back where I did have some snow to deal with. Then at the top it was downhill to Carson Pass and the visitor center where some forest rangers told me there would be snacks.
Sure enough they had snacks and drinks for they hikers so I enjoyed it and chatted with the volunteers working at the visitor center. I had thought about eating lunch there but it was a little too early and wanted to get up to the rim trail to eat.
Had a quick climb up to the rim trail then it was nice and flat to where I ate lunch at Showers Lake.
With just 8 miles left and mostly downhill I figured it would be easy. I got going and starting feeling light headed and overheated. So I took a quick break and got some snow on the back of my neck which helped a lot. I got moving again as I was meeting a guy, Adam, who someone from back home got me in contact with.
I got to the parking lot I saw Adam waiting with 2 other hikers, who we end up dropping them off in town. Then went to Adam’s house who lives in this amazing neighborhood surrounding by mountains. Once we got there I drank so much water. I would finish a glass and Adam would hand me another. I really must had been dehydrated when I arrived as much water as I drank and didn’t pee for a long time.
If was so nice for Adam and his family to open up their home to me to a guy they have never met. Gave me a bed to sleep on, a hot shower and laundry. Not to mention a very good home cook meal with lots of veggies, chicken, and sausage. I ate so much I was full. Tammy, his wife, even made a banana cake for dessert which was yummy. This has been the best day off trail yet, going to be hard to leave tomorrow.
