Saturday, September 7, 2013

September 1, 2013

September 1, 2013
Busk Creek to Boswell? Gulch
28 miles

I must have gotten a good nights sleep last night because I woke up without an alarm at 5am. I briefly thought about going back to sleep for another 15 minutes, but decide instead to get going and use the extra time to make some hot coffee.

On trail at 6am, the miles were some easy Colorado Trail miles through nice pine forest. The first 12 miles went by quickly and I soon found myself at a trailhead. After checking the map, I only had about 7 more miles to go to get to Twin Lakes! It was a nice surprise, as it was less than I thought it would be, and I felt renewed purpose to continue hiking.

Once in Twin Lakes Village I went to the general store to pickup my resupply and also enjoy some ice cream and cold drinks. The new owners at the store have some chairs and tables set up outside, apparently just for hikers, with a bottle opener and power strip conveniently located. I took advantage of both and enjoyed sitting down for a while.

Just as I was getting set to head out a rain shower deterred me and instead I wandered through the visitor center and then stopped in at the Twin Lakes Inn for a late lunch, just before they closed (2:30). I comfortably watched a couple showers pass through while enjoying a hot meal.

Towards the end of my hiking day after hiking around the Twin Lakes, I came across a family unit consisting of a mom, dad, and four young kids. The mom asked how far I was going, to which I responded, "all the way to Mexico." She said, "of course, I could tell by your look." She then told me she hiked the AT in 2000 where she met her husband and father of the four kids. It was a poignant moment as I could see a pang of jealous longing in her eyes, a longing to go back to the days she was on the trail or perhaps a longing to embark on another thru hike. Then the look left and she mentioned something about having a different kind of adventure (the family kind). It reminded me of just how lucky I am to be have this opportunity to hike the trail. Something I need to keep in mind on the difficult days when I question why I'm out here.




Alex

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