Hiking Partners 

July 12th.

I woke up a bit later than normal. All my stuff was still damp.  I had camped near a lake. Humans love to be near water.  However, moist air is drawn to low places at night.(I think the term is katabatic wind.) I had hoped a dry wind might develop, but no such luck. 

At least the weather was nice.  I started the day with a climb through an old spruce forest. Then I descended in a newer forest.  

I came across a hiker in distress.  She was the one who had hunkered down during the storm. Today she had taken an incorrect trail for miles and, to top it all off, she had an unpleasant personal situation that had unfolded recently. She didn’t want to hike alone so we started walking together. 

About an hour later I was pleasantly surprised to see Curtis, Christiana, and their dog Sable. I thought I would never see them again as they were fast hikers.

All four of us hiked together for a while, but eventually Curtis and team sped ahead, agreeing to camp at Surprise Lake.

My new hiking partner had lots of things to talk about as we made our way back to the Divide.  There was a strong, short rainstorm that dropped the temperature at least ten degrees.

After a 20 mile day, we all set our tents around the small, beautiful lake and agreed to start hiking at 6:30.  

We did get a little surprise when a rainstormen blew through in the middle of the night.