I woke up the next morning to the smell of a fresh fire and slowly rolled over to see Jordan cooking breakfast and making coffee (was I dreaming?!). By some miracle, I slept surprisingly well throughout the night and enjoyed listening to the storm rumble in the mountains. Jordan had packed in eggs and bacon, and he must have felt bad for our less-than-ideal sleeping conditions because he shared his bacon with me, even though I had said I didn’t want any the day before when we were at the store picking it up (like I mentioned in Part 1, food is the best way to my heart).
Anyway, after a slow and relaxed morning we packed up and hit the trail. Since we didn’t end up camping at September Morn, we decided to check it out on our way back. And I was sure glad we did. The weather could not have been more perfect, so we dropped our packs at the fork in the trail before making the steep climb up to the lake. There was the most picturesque view about halfway up, and we couldn’t help but stop for a while to take it in.
Once we reached September Morn, we were both glad that we chose to forego spending the night there as there were A LOT of people who had set up camp around the water. We explored beyond the lake a bit and after Jordan took a quick dip in the cold water – and I mean COLD, there was still a good amount of snow around the lake – we made our way back to the trailhead.
With about 3 miles left to go, we met up with a very chatty older lady who decided to tag along with us. Jordan and I are usually fast hikers, so at first, I was frustrated that this lady wanted to talk our ears off since that would mean we’d have to really slow down our pace if we were to keep her company. But, much like making time earlier that day to check out September Morn, I was sure glad we slowed down and hiked the rest of the way with her. She shared with us how she recently got into hiking, and how she wants to try backpacking one day. She told us of trips she’s taken and hikes she’s gone on. She asked us about all the items that were in our packs, wanting to learn what backpacking entails. We shared some of our favorite adventures with her and even found out we had taken some similar trips.
It was such a good reminder of one of the main reasons I fell in love with backpacking and hiking in the first place – to spend quality time with others. Getting out into nature creates space and uninterrupted time, two things which are so difficult to come by in our everyday busy lives. There’s a sense of disconnection from normal life that allows you to connect with others without distractions.
P.S. To Mary, the chatty older lady we met that day, I hope you have tried backpacking and I sure do hope that our trails cross again.
I do think it is important to note that you told me that was the best sleep you had during a backpacking trip.