The sun came through the garage door again this morning so it was easy to wake up. We packed up our things and walked a mile to grab breakfast near the highway, hoping we could catch a ride.
After a good (but expensive) breakfast, we went to the side of the road and stuck our thumbs out. After about 10 minutes a woman pulled over and offered us a ride for $50. We were in a bit of a rush so we decided it was worth it. The ride can be a little tricky since Salida isn’t immediately on the same highway so we took the offer.
Once we got to the pass, we found our old friend Cuddles. We got separated when he went to Arizona for a little while and we went straight to Colorado. He finally caught up.
He did a small resupply at the Monarch Pass store and we shared our stories from the last few weeks. It was great to see him again.
Eventually we kept hiking and enjoyed some pretty awesome views along the Collegiate West route.
Eventually we got to camp at Hancock Lake and I made my dinner. Flamin Hot Cheetos Mac and Cheese. I wouldn’t normally talk about the camp food I made, but this really didn’t look like something I should eat.
It tasted really good, but it was a bit too spicy for my chapped lips. I packed out a Dr. Pepper which helped a bit.
The campsite was amazing and as we ate dinner, more friends who were staying with us at the hostel last night started showing up.
Across the lake is another group of hikers, and while it’s hard to say, I bet they all were with us last night too.
The next few days should be beautiful, but tough. The weather forecast calls for some thunderstorms and rain. We’ve been very lucky with weather so far so I hope that continues.