Day 29: Up up up and away into tourist central

There is just something about the tourist areas that interferes with my sense of direction. This morning we ended up on an ATV road that in the end was really not an ATV at all. Visitors to the park had illegally ridden their bikes on the "hiking only trails" screwing up the information we had on our maps. It clearly stated on the map that the ATV road was to the left of the trail. I had a bit of a freak out, yes again in true Danger form, because we were following a set of deep tire tracks. 10 minutes of searching for the real trail didn't help at all. Replay was pretty firm in her opinion that we were still on the correct trail so I followed along behind her. Just when we thought all trail confusion was over we were stuck scratching our heads again.

When we finally uncovered the wheres and whys to the PCT the day got much calmer and more enjoyable. The wildflowers were in full bloom, the sky was a brilliant blue, and the pass that I didn't know we were climbing until I was at the top had only a slight gradient. There were a couple scary snow-fields mixed in here and there, but I kept Replay in my sights as I powered up the mountain.

Because it was Saturday everyone was out and about. There were large tour groups on "wildflower hunts," families with dogs, and your regular tour group outfitted with name tags. We smiled and waved to our fellow hikers who looked at us with mouths gaping open. We figured since there were such large packs in this area we had to be close to a parking lot with food soon.

Kit Carson Memorial was the destination of all the hikers today. The parking lot was full, people were spilling off the trail and the number of plastic water bottles proved that the occasional hiker was not far from us. Typically Replay and I want to run out of these situations as quickly as possible, but there was a bit of trail magic happening. The rangers provided us with fresh fruit, fresh water and allowed us to throw away all the trash we wanted. Since we had already noshed on the oranges we figured we should wait for Gravy and have lunch at a real picnic table.

While we were waiting for Gravy to show up an ex-Olympian, at least that is what we gathered from his 5 ring tattoo on his right shoulder turned to Replay and told her that we was amazed at her ability to long distance hike. He gushed about the strength and endurance it took and how he could never complete such an adventure. What a compliment!

Once Gravy arrived we plowed through our bear cans eating almost everything that was left inside. Hey the plan is to get to town tomorrow to have two meals. There is no reason why I should have any extra food left over!

The next stop on the itinerary was Showers Lake. Of course Replay and I planned to meet there to see if the Lake was worth a dip. Within an hour we had walked 6 miles and were sun bathing on our own private beach rock. The far side of the lake was all rock. We maneuvered between campsites, hopped a couple large boulders, gingerly stepped over a flood gate of sorts in order to get to our spot. Once we were there it was paradise! We lazed around in the sun for a good hour before peeling our now hot bodies from the cool rocks. We had another 5.2 miles to complete the third 20 mile day.

Anyone excited about tomorrow? I've already started dreaming about milkshakes, pancakes, eggs, and coffee.