Thursday, August 20th, 2020
Dr. Thunder is a solid dude! He took Frisbee, Bang, Filter and I into Lake City. We even picked up a few hikers on the way. We were heading to “Lake City Bakery,” a place highly recommended to us. I would like to extend this recommendation to you. This place was on point! I think everyone was pretty damn happy with it too!
The food there was incredible! We all overindulged, purchasing whatever food looked pleasing to the eye. I bought a sausage calache, a massive cinnamon roll, and a chorizo breakfast burrito. Did I mention the food there is amazing? We sat on their patio for a long time, feeling fat and happy. A dog was scavenging the area for pets and dropped food scraps. He wouldn’t find too much by our table! Just pets.
We did the usual hiker errands: post office, grocery store for resupply, and we all lounged around in the park downtown to dry out our gear. We exploded our gear all over the park, weighing each item down with rocks so they wouldn’t fly away. The park was right next to the library, so we attempted to tap into the free WiFi. It was a pretty relaxing day!
Eventually we got hungry again. We waited outside to pick up food at “Southern Vittles Restaurant”. We ordered the brisket sandwich and chicken tenders. Life was good! There was plenty of people watching too. From the locals to the many tourists driving their Side-by-Sides around town. Those things were EVERYWHERE!
We hopped back in Thunder’s van to return to the trailhead. Upon our arrival, Hatch and Baby G (two members of the Babysitters Club), showed up in the parking lot looking and acting delirious. They were finally turning into true hikers! Both of them were laughing hysterically, happy to make it out alive.
“We night hiked and saw the eyes of a mountain lion!”
A lady nearby who was eavesdropping said, “How many mountain lions did you see?”
“One!”
“That’s plenty!”
Your eyes can play tricks on you in the dark. But whether or not they actually saw one, the fear is very real! I had an incident on the Florida Trail that terrified me. I thought I might be living my final moments of life. Turned out it was just a deer. Joke’s on me.
Bang and Filter planned on camping near the trailhead. Thunder was taking the Babysitter’s Club into town when the other two caught up. Unfortunately, one of them, Skid, was hiking with a sore ankle. I know all too well what it’s like to hike injured. I felt bad.
Frisbee and I hiked on and it began to rain. Of course. Most of the hiking was in a rocky, open field. We watched the storm clouds circling around us and hoped to get to lower ground before they got closer.
When we finally reached lower ground on a dirt road, a Jeep came driving towards us. It was an older couple from Texas and they were lost. We got to the road through a ‘foot traffic only’ path. We didn’t know where the roads would take them. We gave them our best guess, pointing towards the direction of town. We wished them luck and went our separate ways. I hoped they made it out okay. They were low on fuel, water, food and it was looking to be a very cold night. We hiked passed the spring, filled up, then headed uphill, stopping at mile 367.3.
9.5 miles (15.3 km)
Jump Ahead to The Colorado Trail: Part 20
Jump Back to The Colorado Trail: Part 18
or
Start from the Beginning: The Colorado Trail: Part 1
Stubbs Rambles On 