Day 3 - snow day...

Mile 28.6 to Mile 30

We woke up at 4:00am to Rooster crowing Good Morning Vietnam! I let everyone know we had an out if wanted - Rooster and Pacemaker decided to hurry up and try and head out (which they did wind up making it up the mountain in record time)... the rest of us took the ride with Cowboy up the mountain from mile 30 - to try and get a room at the Lodge in Laguna.

For me, it was the best call. The day continuously turned worse - the temperature dropped constantly to a low of -2 with windchill - 95 mph gust were reported from the lodge itself overnight.

We had to sit outside until the lodge opened - and probably had our first hiker trash moment... as I looked at us, stinky, bundled up on the porch - I thought of something a former PCT hiker said in a video, in the words of tip tap...” a thru hike is privileged homelessness with intention”...

We did laundry in buckets - washboard style, got showers, and hung out with other hikers sheltering for most of the day.

We were all itching to get back on trail... but in the end - it was the right call.

So far.. this old body feels pretty good - my only “trail injury” so far some boiling water to my leg - resulting in a little burn.... my right ankle swelled up for some reason after my hot shower - but no pain- I iced it with snow a few times and despite the swelling - it seems fine.