3 Highlights:
1. Hanging out with James and just soaking in the day
2. Finally, after what felt like forever, my sunglasses arrived
3. A saloon visit, followed by a hitch to Twin Lakes with Hanna (and some unexpected pizza)
Daily Summary:
• Distance hiked: 0 km
• Starting point: Leadville
• Ending point: Twin Lakes
• Weather conditions: Sunny, perfect for not hiking
Daily Reflections (challenges, insights, musings):
Woke up feeling incredibly lazy. Skipped the usual cold shower torture and gymnastics routine. Instead, I fiddled with the piano and pretended to be productive. After sufficiently wasting the morning, I headed over to Zero Cafe to meet James, with Wild Flower in tow. Vanessa popped in as well. Cortado hit the spot, though the day was still moving at a leisurely pace.
The post office, however, was less fun. I had a 45-minute phone argument with Amazon, which, for the record, did not go well. Tempers flared—mine. But, onward! Mexican food at lunch with James and Wild Flower helped soothe the frustration. Seriously, how does this town keep nailing the Mexican cuisine?
A quick resupply at Safeway, where we bumped into Saint. James departed, heading back to the trail, and I headed back to the post office one last time. Miraculously, the long-lost sunglasses package finally materialized. Victory! We celebrated by buying socks. Because, well, socks.
Next stop, Melanzana—again. We’d already overstayed our welcome, but they begrudgingly allowed us to buy more gear. Worth the initial rejection and “No, not you again!” reaction from the staff. They quickly turned and were extremely helpful.
With some time to kill before heading out of town, we wandered into what has to be the best old-time saloon in the West, the Silver Dollar. It’s practically dripping with history. One cider and an Old Fashioned later, we were deep into conversation with everyone around us. To my right, four Canadians chatting about hiking 14ers (14000 feet peaks), and to my left, Hannah—who turned out to be the MVP of the day. She builds GPS dog collars, has traveled all over (Kenya, life straws, the works), and is building a cabin at Twin Lakes.
When she offered us a lift to Twin Lakes, we jumped at the chance. She even showed us her cabin—well, the walls that had gone up that day. It’s coming along nicely. At camp overlooking the twin lakes, she invited us to pizza.
Now, as I write this, the coyotes are serenading us in the distance. It’s kind of perfect. Good night.
