Onward

Day 117

Even with the failed summit yesterday the last stretch has been a blast. But, as I've come to learn- even if you love a stretch of trail, a camp spot, or a great little trail town- you must keep moving.

The day flowed slowly through a morning spent getting coffee in town, to dropping our friend Flying Fish off at the train station where he'll head home to Boulder, and then saying goodbye to Jarett as he heads south to gear up for his winter job in Mammoth. It was a reflective day on the four of us's time spent together as we enjoyed some of the last days of summer in a collectively unique way.

This day marked the end of that chapter, and the dawn of the later chapters in the story that this trail has become. In two fast stretches we hit the Oregon border. That marks 1,700 miles down, less than a thousand to go.

Just beginning to catch our stride our packs and bodies grow lean, eating away anything unnecessary. But, as this new mindset overtakes our previous one we realize how long we've been out here- as long as the time it took to hike the entire Appalachian Trail.

Our passion to finish burns brighter than the ailing season of summer, shivering as fall begins its march on the hills. We focus now, always in the middle of this journey, but at the start of a new chapter... Russian and Marble Wildernesses, new towns, awesome people and all the things we can't foresee- We know it's going to be a good chapter.

-Andy