Oh, how I love town days! We woke up to birds chirping this morning. Being we had less than five miles to hike into town, and nothing opens till 9am, I was given a pass to sleep in. That, in itself, makes for one, glorious day.

We had our first true Aspen Grove that was like a highway to the Pearly Gates! The trail was lined with Aspens that reached 80-100′ tall. They were towering over us and made for a delightful morning. I saw one of my first Magpies. It’s a black and white bird that is rather large, and you can hear it as it flies passed you. He was singing and floating above me. Just a marvelous winged creature to watch.

Twin Lakes is a town of less than 200 people. Yet, it brings in the crowds due to all the recreation in the area. Many people come for the fishing, hiking, river rafting and hunting in the fall. We came for our resupply boxes and any type of food that didn’t require rehydrating. There must of been another 10-15 hikers that had the same idea. The place was hopping and the owners were happy to have the business. I was told that this year has been a record year for hikers coming through. No COVID here!

After organizing our food supply, we headed out of town for showers and laundry. There’s a family who helps hikers by providing a way of cleaning up. Not all hikers indulge but Triple-Z and I were thrilled with the idea that we could smell like roses, if even for just an afternoon. After our day at the spa, we road walked back to the trail.

This is probably the scariest part of backpacking – walking a two lane highway! Most of the drivers were thoughtful and moved over for us. We made it back to the trail and beat feet to camp. This weather system that we seem to be locked into has some punch in the afternoons with rain and hail. It’s July but I’m thinking this is a pretty normal occurrence. We found a perfect secluded little piece of real estate and pitched our home for another night. The issue is this pesty chipmunk seems to think I’m his new best friend! Obviously he hasn’t missed any meals!

Anyone can find the dirt in someone. Be the one that finds the gold. Proverbs 11:27