Mileage: 0
Longmire: 2800 ft
I woke up again at first light after a restless night of sleep in the back of Jen's car. Come to think of it, I have slept restless this whole trip so far, which is unusual for me especially in the back-country where I sleep very well. I got up and walked around Longmire for a bit. It is a peaceful place in the early morning and without the hoards of tourists around. I went and got my camera to get some pictures before the place got busy. Jim found me and we walked around looking at stuff and talked about my hike. I told him at this point I wasn't sure I wanted to finish, but we'll see tomorrow. It then dawned on me that I was on the south side of the mountain and 2/3 of the way done! Wow, guess I have walked a long way already!
Back of the NPI
Sunrise on the mountain
Front of NPI
Old gas station and Kenworth
shuttle on display; NPI in back
Jim and I headed to breakfast as Jen was sleeping in, so we talked over coffee. Jen finally joined us and we ordered and had breakfast. I really needed to dry everything out in my pack and swap the rest of my stuff out, so we grabbed my pack and spread everything out in the back of Jim's pick-up and I mean everything!
My first-aid kit was soaked through, so ended up throwing most of it away and dried out the gauze pads and a few other items. The tourists started arriving at Longmire and looking at the truck funny, as they were trying to figure it all out. Jim and Jen left to go up to Paradise and I hung with my stuff trying to catch up on my journal and flip stuff over to make sure everything was dried out. The late morning sun was hot and it was a beautiful day!
Jim's pick-up gear drying service
I swapped out the food and my clothes and started packing up my stuff as things were drying out. A family walked by and the dad asked what I was doing as I had nice stuff so I told him. His 8 year old daughter swung around to face me and asks me if I'm staying out in the wilderness as there are bears out there, I'm not allowed to be out there! We all laughed and I told her that I hope not to see any bears at least up close. It was cute, but I think she jinxed me too!
Mt Rainier
Jim and Jen came back from Paradise saying it was already too crowded, so we finished packing everything up and went to eat lunch. After that, they wanted to head home and I found out I couldn't check into my room at the NPI until 1600, which left me sitting around for a few hours. Jim and Jen left and I was awaiting the arrival of a friend who was coming out to hang out and stay the night.
I finally got checked in my room, took a nice long soaking bath and just hung out to relax. I also wanted to do a load of laundry getting my "camp clothes" clean for the next part of the trail. So, I hung out on the inn porch and doing laundry. There was a note on my door saying my friend wasn't coming, which made me mad as I could have invited someone else to come out. Oh well, I went and had dinner and headed back to the room to finish packing and finally went to bed.
This day and a half off at Longmire was a very good thing. It rested my feet, dried out my gear, restocked my food and changed out my clothing. In other words, I had an attitude adjustment!
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