Day 26

Day 26

5-14-2014

Miles: 298.32-308

-OMG! Woke up and hung out with lots of hikers on the beach at the river all morning. 

-Tin Man and I eventually hiked out and it was SOOOO HOT!!!!!! Ugh! It was miserable hiking weather. 

-Passed the 300 mile marker which was exciting. 

-Made it to Deep Creek Hot Springs where I relaxed in both the river and the hot springs. I didn't put my head in the water because there was a rumor about some bacteria in the water that can kill you. It was so nice to relax in the hot springs. 

-Tin Man, Mountain Mama, and I decided to hike out at night. Once we were a little ways up the trail, we all realized we were tired and wanted to go back to the hot springs... so we turned around and back tracked! Hahaha... I can't believe we went back. 

-Set up camp in the exact same place I camped last year. 

-It was a full moon... so TONS of local hippies came out to the hot springs for a moon gathering. It was an interesting crowd to hang out with, but lots of fun. Hippies and hikers usually get along pretty well. There were nude people everywhere as well. 

-Right before I was going to bed, Tin Man and I were looking out over the river and at the canyon walls surrounding us. We saw a hiker coming down an insanely steep part of the canyon. I thought the dude must be a jackass for hiking in such a precarious spot at night. I was half way concerned for him, and half way amused by him. We watched the hiker make it safely down the cliff and cross the river. Then, the hiker walked our way and asked where the hot springs were. Tin Man told him how to get there. The hiker recognized Tin Man's voice and said "Is that Tin Man?" Tin Man replied that it was him, and he asked the hiker for his name. The hiker said "I'm 1-track!" Tin Man and I knew 1-Track and we both were excited to see him... but I couldn't quite remember exactly who 1-Track was. After a few seconds of trying to remember, I realized that 1-Track is my older BROTHER!!!! How crazy is that?!?! 1-Track flew back to Texas for knee surgery and I knew he had flown back out to get back on trail, but neither of us knew where the other was. It was 100% pure happenstance that my brother and I ran into one another at Deep Creek! How kismet! Yay!

-I'm happy I turned around and went back to Deep Creek, because I ran into my brother!