Day 62: mile 1267.9-1286.8
Day 63: Zero
I woke up so happy to be feeling warm. The first night back out here was pleasant. Even though I knew I had about 10 miles of snow ahead of me the warm weather put me in a good mood. Plus I could handle 10 miles, I knew I’d be sleeping on dirt again tonight.
Belden was the next stop, and absolutely doable for the day, but since we just left town it felt unnecessary. I was trying not to spend money after our multi-day zero, and it’s nearly impossible to say no to beers and food that’s not dehydrated when the opportunity presents itself.
I cruised through the hot and humid day, heading up the mountain toward the snow. When I reached it I was happy to find it was mostly flat, easy walking. I even ran into another human going southbound! This was so exciting since the trail has been lacking in that area. We chatted for a bit, exchanging tips for what was ahead for each of us.
Once I was out of the snow I turned the corner to the most beautiful view! Another one of Mother Nature’s works of art.
The miles were flying by, so I decided I was going into Belden after all. I’ll just be good and get nothing. Yeah right, I have no willpower, and a beer sounded delightful. 😂I began the endless descent. One of those depressing descents because you know you’re going back up just as high on the other side. It went for miles. My feet were done by the time I reached the bottom, not used to walking that far on hard dirt trail anymore. The snow made them soft. 😂
I reached the restaurant and Ring Master had already ordered the three of us food and gotten a hotel room, what a guy! One night on the dirt was too much for him I guess (jk,jk 😂), but I reaped the benefits so I was all for it. Thanks RM!
The following day we walked a horribly hot few miles on the road to pick up our packages and send home our snowshoes. I couldn’t have been more excited to get rid of them! Unfortunately the store owner was stuck in a road closure and unable to open the store until the afternoon. By the time all was said and done it was late afternoon and Dipity and I lost motivation to hike uphill in the heat. We decided to camp down by the river and make the climb when it’s a bit cooler out tomorrow morning. Dang, looks like another zero, oops!
Damn mosquitoes! 
Goodnight!
XOXO Becks
😊✌️