The weather was so warm last night that I was actually too warm in my sleeping bag, so I slept fitfully. It was good though, because it meant I didn't need to deal with condensation in the morning.
I got up and on the trail by 7:20 this morning, which was about when I had planned to. With the nice weather, my main concern was getting up and over the first major climb before it got hot. I was able to do that, but with the humidity and temperature both unseasonably high, I was sweating soon after I started moving.
After about 3 hours of hiking, I got to the top of a ridge where there was a tent set up. No one was outside so I just cruised by. About an hour later, while I was taking a break, a hiker caught up to me and I couldn't believe my eyes--it was Billy! I had hiked with Billy for several days back around Big Bear in Southern California, about 2000 miles earlier. We had gotten separated due to schedules and then he had suffered an injury that I thought ended his trip. Turns out he had finished Southern and Central California, Oregon, and now was working on Washington. Because of all the time off the trail, he had to skip Northern California but he's planning to do it after he gets to Canada.
Regardless, it was great to see him and there is a reasonable chance that we'll be hiking together for most of the rest of the trip, which is good news.
After putting in 28 miles (for me), we got to Wind River. As the crow flies, it is only 10.2 miles away from where I camped last night. Tomorrow we've got our work cut out for us as the first 9 miles are pretty much all uphill. If all goes well, we'll start at about 1000' and end around 5000'.
When we got to Wind River Road, there was a mom-and-pop store just a hundred yards away. We got there after they closed but they let us in anyway. They even fired up the grill again to make burgers for us but then ran out of propane. Bummer for everyone. However, all is not lost because they serve biscuits and gravy on weekend mornings. Since tomorrow is Saturday, we're staying in the yard of the convenience store so that we can get biscuits and gravy in the morning! Gotta love hot breakfasts!
One final thought: It hardly seems possible that it has been eight years since 9/11. I still can remember it as if it were yesterday. My prayers are still with the families of those who lost a loved one. As for the terrorists, surviving and dead...well...I'll keep those thoughts to myself!
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