Today is the day I leave the trail to go back to Seattle for a wedding. I’m sad to leave my friends behind, but I’m really excited to see Meghan.
The day started with a trip to the diner before breakfast. After that the other guys needed to buy food for the upcoming section. The grocery store was next to the highway so I walked over with them, said my goodbyes, and started trying to hitchhike to Rock Springs, where I would pick up a rental car.
After about 10 minutes I get a call from Feel Good. He ran into Quiet, a guy I hiked with who was only hiking a section and ending in Rawlins. He had a car and was willing to give me a ride! I went back to the grocery store and got in the car with Quiet. I couldn’t believe my luck!
As we were about to turn onto the highway we saw two hikers with a sign that said Salt Lake City. It was Shotgun and Guru, the hikers I had met the other day under a bridge. Quiet pulled over, thinking he could at least get them as far as Rock Springs. I soon realized that my route to Seattle would take me right by SLC. It worked out perfectly!
They were going to a dentist appointment and then to Boise to visit friends. As luck would have it, they want to return around the same time I’ll be driving back to the trail. I’ll be going right through Boise on my way back too!
Quiet dropped us off and continued home. It was so generous of him to take me to Rock Springs and I hope I can find some way to repay him. I picked up the rental car and we drove to SLC. It was nice to have some company for the ride. Utah was much closer than I realized and soon I found myself alone after dropping them off.
I booked a room in Boise for the night and started the 5 hour drive. I’m glad I got to break this up into a few stages. I should hit Seattle in the early afternoon. I’ll do some laundry, pick up some new shoes, and then have the weekend to enjoy with Meghan and friends.
Its a weird feeling being this far away from the trail. My friends will be way ahead, but I think I can catch them.