Day 95

20 Miles

Some night hikers, who we suspect were Bluegrass and Spin, rolled into camp last night around 11:30. They were surprisingly quiet setting up their tents and turning in. We tried to afford them the same courtesy when we left in the morning. However, we didn’t get a chance to ask them today if we were successful. We camped at a site that’s about a half-mile up from where most hikers we saw today were staying. We saw a girl hiking down as we were coming up from gathering water, but didn’t learn her name. Later in the morning we saw a bear walking along a forest road (that makes 4 for the whole trail so far). We were pretty far away so it was just a black spot moving up the road. Shortly after, Ninja and Tidbits passed us. We asked if they also saw the bear, but they hadn’t. They told us that Sunshine was coming up and we should surprise her by knowing her name even though we’ve never met. So we did, and it was the same girl from the creek in the morning. We all eventually stopped at the same spot to eat lunch. A guy named Good Nut was there, and Big Red joined us eventually. We talked about food, where we’re all from, what we do in the real world, hiking bubbles, etc. It was fun meeting them all, and we leapfrogged with them a bit the rest of the day. The smoke coming up from the (presumable) Dixie Fire was pretty thick today. It kept the temperature somewhat bearable, however. I hope the winds change tomorrow so we can get some cleaner air.