Last night was the coldest night on the trip thus far. It was 27 degrees out at 7 this morning, so it probably got down to the mid or low 20s. Before sleep I watched my breath wreathe my head like cigar smoke, so I knew my tent would have a lot of condensation. Worse, my bag and socks were soaked. I spent the night huddled up, wearing every scrap of clothing I own, and still freezing. I woke up this morning with the inside of my tent wall frozen, along with my sleeping bag and shoes. The plan was to start hiking again today, but the miserable night made me push back my departure by one day. And boy what a difference a day makes!
The warm weather started rolling in today, and by the time I got back from my morning coffee it was warm enough to dry my sleeping bag on top of my tent, and lounge around with no shirt on.
Speaking of morning coffee, I met with Woverine as usual, but today we were also joined by Frank and "Hawk," two middle aged through hikers. We discussed everything from the trail to politics. Eventually the conversation turned to my lack of a trail name. Frank considers himself an expert at giving trail names. Wolverine mentioned that a German hiker had mistaken my name for Jesse. I immediately responded with "James" to correct her. Wolverine said "Jesse James? Sounds like a good trail name." Frank and Hawk agreed it fit me. I pointed out that Jesse James is the name of an outlaw and a porn star (so I've heard), so which would that make me? "Depends on the day," was the response. Everyone laughed and my name was pretty much decided.
So tomorrow afternoon I head back into the wilderness. I'll be going slowly and blazing trail without my pack on first, just to be safe. I guess they had to rescue somebody up there a week ago. The only thing that saved his life was a cell phone. I programmed the phone number for the ranger station into my phone just in case, though I should be fine as most of the new snow has already melted with the heat today.
I have attached a picture of my fellow through hikers. Wolverine is seated, Hawk is in the middle, and Frank is on the right.
