Mile 1375 to 1391
“Boom Boom, are you gonna keep the blog going? Don't worry, I'll give you good quotes.” - Animal Style
I was dropped off in Old Station at JJ’s diner by Fey and her father. They stayed for a quick breakfast before departing, and just like that, the Boom/Fey chapter of this story ended somewhat abruptly. We both knew that she would be taking off with her family and flying home to rock out on her business (way cool), but I think my mind and heart didn’t want to be bothered with these small details. When it was finally time to say goodbye, I wasn’t ready for it. All the beautiful morning sunrises, the amazing night sky, the headaches and grime and baths in freezing lakes, beautiful vistas and bug infested valleys. The experiences were still, and will always, be firmly planted in my mind, but I was losing my partner that had been there for it all. I was happy and I was sad.
[communicating through photos, Fey napping back in Ohio, Fey in her new house in Charlottesville]
The rest of the day was the definition of “hiker trash.” We basically took over the small diner and waited out the heat… from 7AM to 7PM. We found some shade next to an abandoned building next door and snoozed a bit. Charged our phones. Faught with the wireless to try and communicate with the outside world. Made the pilgrimage to the gas station for Gatorade (we had to muster up the energy to walk about 100 yards. Definitions: “PCT Laziness”). We hiked in the sunset and made good time over the dusty trail shattered with lava rock. About an hour into hiking, we ran across a huge green rattler in the middle of the trail… Yikes!
We hiked without stopping for 10 miles, and around 11 o' clock settled down in some high grass to take a quick break. When all the headlamps were off, the stars were breathtaking. We’ve seen great star displays throughout the trip, but this one was toward the top. The Milky Way stretched across the whole sky right above us and the moon was not yet up. Typically we are in our tent before dark, so it is rare that we are stargazing.
[Jetpack ready to go, Animal ready to go, sunset views, the rattler, a bear Spearhead saw a few days back, a badger Hawkeye saw a few days back]
Dazed and in pain from stubbing our toes on lava rock, we reached an amazing water cache with some food and general hiker supplies around 1:30 and crashed for 3 hours before prying ourselves off our sleeping mats and into the morning light to finish off the waterless section.
