Lincoln
Time Traveled: 10 mins
Distance: 3 miles
Food eaten: coffee w/ sugar & cream, super oatmeal (7th power), tuna melt, salad, raisinets, chai, a few french fries, roasted veggie dinner w/ onion, garlic, squash, pepper, mushrooms, butternut squash soup, olive oil
It was decided after an extremely cold and gloomy awakening, that another day in Lincoln would do us good. Especially after I discovered that all those noises I heard last night ate the big, luscious peaches we were saving for breakfast.
A warm fire helped to brighten our day a bit. So did an hour in a warm restaurant with hot food. So did the outdoor shower our camp host offered to us. The shower turned out to be more of an outdoor sponge bath, but it was refreshing just the same.
That night's dinner entree turned out to be even better than the previous night's. Another delicious campfire veggie dish with soup as a liquid base instead of beer. It was wonderful.
Yesterday, we met a woman who was through hiking the Great Divide Trail. She and her female hiking partner had been going at this since April going South to North. I can't imagine the self discipline and determination it would take to devote over six months to this journey and on foot to boot.
She must have been in her late 30's or early 40's and she was dressed only in her rain clothes as she was in the middle of laundry. It seemed she was being drowned in her clothing because of how this she was. Still, she moved with a strength and confidence that made me believe she was a man before we had conversation. All smiles, you could tell that she appreciated every moment of her journey with all its ups and downs for exactly what they were. You know that this type of travel is something she will probably continue to do until her days' end.
The camp host came to visit again tonight. "Knock, knock" he called out in his usual manner. In one hand was a small, glass coffee pot filled to the brim. In the other was a glass with ice and what I assumed to be, water.
Joe and I were really not in the mood for more coffee. We had drunk more than our share for both breakfast and lunch. Now it was past 7pm with the sun going down adn we had a long, grueling ride waiting for us in the morning. But how can you turn down hospitality when it walks right into your campsite and into your coffee mugs? We couldn't.
Of course we thanked him and drank all that we were able. I think he just wanted someone to talk to and used coffee as an excuse. Yet, how can you blame him for wanting to reach out? We were the only campers at the entire park and the man was alone constantly. So we chatted with him for around an hour about various things, excluding politics this time. We learned about the stuffed bear in the ranger station and he seemed to think that we would very much want to camp at the site on top of Flescher's Pass tomorrow night.
I wonder if it was really water in his glass, for at times he stumbled with his speech and he seemed to stagger a little on his feet. I think I even caught a whiff of alcohol as he was leaving. I suppose I will never know for sure.
