October 17

Distance: 27.1 miles | Ascent: 4840′ | Descent: 4650′

Mile marker: 2082.9

Lunch: J&A – chili and rice (B+,?)

Dinner: J – chili and rice (A), A – Korean Beef (?)

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The morning clouds in the valley were quite spooky. It looked like the ocean with the mountains poking through like islands.

When we popped over to the other side of the ridge, we saw several wind turbines in the distance. We had seen their blinking red lights the night prior. We like wind turbines. You should like wind turbines too!

We got closer and closer to them throughout the day. They look so peaceful, slowly whirling away.

There was also baby wildlife on the trail! A baby rattlesnake whose rattle was not yet functional, and a chunky juvenile lizard of some sort. Both were well-camouflaged.

At sunset, the sky was beautiful with oranges and pinks and purples silhouetting the wind turbines.

We hiked a bit more in the dark because that’s our life now. Jason spotted a pair of eyes watching us. It didn’t immediately scamper away. It was a grey fox with the bushiest tail. It reminded us of a cute pomerian-husky mix in the family – she has a similarly fluffy tail and squinty face.

We got to camp with two other hikers already there and waiting – two friends who have been on this same section of trail with us for the past few day. We are all planning to go into town tomorrow. We told them about the 8:45 bus, and they begrudgingly accepted it would be an early morning, with 6.5 miles to go to reach the bus stop.