Saturday, June 19. 2021

This will be our last day. As we eat in our solitude, a man comes running by in shorts, running shoes and a hydration vest. He was running our 61-mile route a one day run for him. Shortly he was followed by a woman. At 7:30 am they had run about 10 miles.

We went about 2.8 miles on this trail the day before, leaving us a 10-mile day. But not just a 10-mile hike, but one with an altitude gain of 2,372 feet and an altitude loss of 1,732 feet. This will be our hardest day. My recollection of doing this trail five years ago in the opposite direction was that it wasn’t hard. But I ascended 1,732 feet and descended 2,372 feet. Plus, I was 66 and now I’m 71. 

All I can say about this is that the uphill was tough, and the downhill was grueling and unending. If one more person told us we only hadtwo miles to go, we were going to beat them bloody. So, we quit asking how far it was to South Lake. 

We were so sore; we couldn’t really appreciate the parking lot which the trail dumped us onto. We had to drive some distance to have enough signal to text Robert and ask if his invitation to spend the night was still open. He responded that mi casa es su casa. He would only be there for an hour. He was heading out to camp on a ledge because that’s what he does on the anniversary his marriage. His wife died several years ago. He would put out sheets for us and we could sleep in separate bedrooms with our own baths. 

We stopped at McDonald’s drive-thru and ate in the parking lot. We arrived in time to get instructions from Robert and wish him well. Then we went to Safeway for some junk food. 

It was over.