7/29

Last night a big animal came into my camp. It was silhouetted against the lake and I thought it might have been an elk. It was very surreal. I could see the exact moment that it realized it was just at the foot of a family's camp and it turned quickly and circled back around me. 

I checked the ground for it's prints this morning and found out it was a large deer and not an elk. 

I left camp around 7 am again as it was another frigid night. This one colder than the last. I am camped at Dumbbell lake where there are some very loud and inconsiderate middle aged women enjoying themselves vivaciously. What can I say to them? Nature is more than just a place to hear your own voice echo back across a large lake? I could say that, but the way they are conducting themselves immediately assures me it would be over their heads. I'm too tired to hike on as the 30 miles I put in today really drained me.

On a more positive note, the two boys in the family I camped with last night really lit up when I showed them my gear and they spoke of alcohol stoves and thru-hiking late into the night. I was just talking to a close friend about inspiring others on the trail and it struck me that if I could inspire these two guys to be more engaged outdoorsmen or even thru-hike a long trail I would be deeply satisfied. I was inspired to do this by thru-hikers I met in 2008 and I know what it did to me. I'm here now and having the most joyful and transformative experience of my life. If I can pay that forward to just one person...

Oh well. 

Slowing down the next couple days (25's not 30's) to time my meet up with Drama now rescheduled for Thursday morning @ hwy 20. Excited to see him.

-Luke