And a brand new day it was indeed!
I caught up on some sleep and woke to perfectly blue skies. After a leisurely breakfast, I rummaged through the lodge and got all my gear ready. Using dental floss this time, I patched up a hole in my other shoe today. 
Arms, Double D and Gourmet hiked out before me and I wouldn’t see them for the remainder of the day. Around 1100 I got back on trail.
Today was a truly blissful compared to the last stretch. With the sun out, I felt like I was floating over the trail, and I experienced a very serene stillness of my mind. A beautiful calm after the turbulent stormy weather and moods I dealt with during the rainy days. Remind me not to complain anymore whenever the sun is out and I’m feeling like it’s too hot…
With a heavy pack filled with yummy goodies I set out. My feet seem to hold out okay. The first couple hours were devoted to a climb of 2300 feet elevation gain. I slowly but steadily trod on and ran into Captain, a girl I’d met before, when I was hiking towards Trout Lake. Once we got to the ridge, I joined her and her friends Otherside, Turtle and Houdini for lunch, all new faces and all very kind. Basking in the sun I just enjoyed listening to them talk. Nothing else I needed in that moment.
The rest of the afternoon I would hike behind the small trail-family at a comfortable pace. It was so nice out that I simply could not push myself to go fast today.
I’d worry about miles tomorrow. 
I listened to a podcast and pretty soon the sun was setting. I knew it would be a short day, but when we got to camp, beating the total darkness by mere minutes, I checked to find out I’d done only 15.6 miles today. Hmm, that would require some making up of miles tomorrow, if I still want to get to Stevens Pass in 2 days.
It’s 52 miles left to go.
It cooled down ridiculously fast and after a quick bite outside my tent with the others we all simply had to get into our sleeping bags. Looking forward to another sunny day tomorrow!
Well there’s a stranger that I keep in my room
And it poses a question of the things that I don’t want to do
But there’s a hole at work asleep in the night
And it raises my glass to all the things that I don’t want to deny
Sleeping in a bed I want to last for more
And I’ve been calling in my dreams for other things
And I don’t even know why
Something’s happening to me my love
Like I woke up from a dream only to find
That I still hadn’t woke up
Oh and it’s just your sweet love gone
Oh it’s just your sweet love gone
And I’ve gotta find another way to go about it now
Woke up from a dream – The Paper Kites
