I spent the night at The Ravens Hostel in Lake City along with several other thru hikers. There was a Ultra Marathon in town so it was sold out. But we all still stayed and slept on the lawn. The next day we all got rides back to the pass as other hikers came filtering in. Pretty much everyone at this point has to find rides around the fire.
Upon reaching the pass, we all stood in a thick blanket of smoke. It was like this the rest of the day as we climbed on a high plateau that would normally have a great view.
The next day I just wanted to get out of the smoke and took the valley around San Luis Peak, a 14,000 footer. The valley was choked with Beaver damns for about 10 miles. The day went by great with all the hikers to talk to. But one by one they fell behind, and only "Beef Stew" hung in there to Monarch Summit.
He hiked the last day as well with us and he is now taking 5 days of to see his girlfriend. We on the other hand only spent a hour at the store for resupply and are up high above the town of Salida Colorado. Next stop is Twin Lakes on Saturday.
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