I wanted to sleep in today but couldn't. I am always restless by 5am. I looked at some maps and things and ran to the grocery to get some cash and veggies. The others started waking up and we reminisced on last night's cheeseburger pizza. We talked about plans for the day, hitching out in the afternoon and maybe camping at the base of Mt. Baden-Powell. Some of the others went to get coffee and Kristen and I stayed back to finish packing and sorting things.
I was happy that most of the errands were done. I was starving so I wanted some real food. I don't really like the thought of eating trail food when I'm not hiking. I also wanted to make a stop at the library to fix my squarespace. It sent me an email that there was an error with my mailing list so I wanted to check it out. It was so strange to use a computer. For the past month, I've been doing everything by phone on the tiny screen and fingers. It felt so good to type on a keyboard. I saw Sita at the library and turns out she's staying another day. She's got a few pains and health concerns going on. I hope she can get back on soon.
I then went to the coffee shop and ordered a blt chicken grilled cheese sandwich and a lemon poppyseed muffin. I was starving by now. All I had eaten so far were some fruit and broccoli. I walked back to the cabin to eat and take a nap. GB was there doing the same. We decided to hitch out around 230p. We got picked up by this weird Asian guy driving his mom's minivan. He had these pig plushies on the seat head rests, super azn. He just seemed unsure of things on where we were going and was driving a little crazy. I was a bit terrified and would be worried if I were alone. We finally got dropped back off at the trailhead and I was so relieved to make it there alive.
We met sooo many day hikers today! It was so fun to talk to them. I think because it's a Saturday and the trail is popular. There were also a lot of dogs. We stopped and talked to a lady named Christine who used to be a park ranger in the area but was laid off in 2000. She had these two 10 year old rescue dogs that were so cute. She told us about all the trees and plants in the area and how they have changed over the years. She had a really interesting story. We made it to the base of Mt. B-P which was a parking lot for the trail. There was nowhere to camp so we hiked on.
The trail here reminded me soooo much of home! Lots of incline and back to back switchbacks. But it was gradual. I kinda like that. Our packs were heavy though. We were in the trees most of the time so the heat was no problem. It was actually pretty chilly. There would've been no way we would've made it that far up of we were in the heat exposed. We passed a bunch more hikers coming down from the summit. Like usual, we hoped to find a flat spot for camp somewhere up the mountain. Halfway up, we got a text from Kristen saying she wasn't able to hitch out tonight so I am bummed but am confident she will catch up in no time.
We made it to 377 and found a place to camp, just a mile before the summit. We are back at high elevation so it's going to be a chilly night. I am trying to sleep but there's this owl or something howling. It's so loud and annoying. Tomorrow morning will be awesome since we're so close already. Hopefully I will wake to see the sunrise at the summit!