Day 97

Trail miles: 11.5

Total: 1388.8

Big jump in the mileage! We are over halfway now. I had a really good sleep late night in my own hotel bed then got up to take another shower. I finished a couple more chores and packed my bag so it would be ready to go after breakfast. Then I waited for everyone else to finish packing. I should have just gone and ordered food to go because I knew I was running out of time before our hitch picked us up at 10:00am. But I waited to sit down with everyone at Cravings about a block away. We got seated before 9:00am and still didn’t have our food by 10. It was a little hysteric in the town because there was a Fourth of July parade getting ready to start at 11:00 am. There were people everywhere dressed in full red, white, and blue. There was even a 5k race that went by. It took a bit, but the table was able to get their checks paid for before the food came out. Finally what seemed to be the owner or manager took care of our meals and got them ready in to-go boxes that we could eat on the way to the trailhead. I know it was my fault that I should have just ordered my own food at the walk up counter. Honestly I was sad we were missing out on the holiday festivities! Sometimes I wish we would just relax a bit and enjoy the trip instead of worrying about mileage. 

A few miles onto trail, we stopped at the Trail Angel Cafe, which was just a circle of tailgating chairs with some trail magic in the center. I got a Dr Pepper of course! And the best part was Courtney, Jonah, Moss, and Starcrunch were there! So it was a big reunion. We probably won’t see much more of them when they speed by us after Burney Falls. The miles today were not so bad because the terrain has been pretty flat. But my bag is heavy after leaving town so it’s still a little miserable. Sometimes I wonder why I am even hiking if it’s causing me so much pain. I felt nauseous at camp so I laid down for a while after rehydrating my dinner. I feel better now though. At least my stomach does.