CDT - Day 128 - Darby
Last night, it rained from 7:00 p.m. until 2:00 in the morning. It rained so much that I actually ended up with water inside my tent. The Zpacks Pivot Solo is notoriously difficult to get into the correct bathtub shape, and I paid for that this morning. One side of the bathtub floor was lying flat against the ground, and there must have been a small river running straight into my tent. My "junk" pod filled with water. Nothing was ruined, thankfully, but it was particularly annoying to deal with first thing in the morning.
After a very easy six-mile hike to Lost Trail Pass, we got picked up by only the third car that drove by. A nice young woman driving a truck with a horse trailer enthusiastically picked us up and gave us a ride into Darby. She asked where we'd like to be dropped off, and I told her my first stop in any town is usually breakfast.
She dropped us off at Studmuffins Bakery, where I had a delicious breakfast bagel, a pumpkin chocolate chip muffin, and a mocha. An excellent way to reenter civilization.
After breakfast, we walked over to The Darmont Hotel, where I got a really nice suite. They gave me a small hiker discount and free access to the laundry room, which is always a huge bonus after more than 120 miles on trail.
For lunch, I stopped at Montana Cafe and had a mini burger and an exceptionally good hot chocolate.
Six easy miles, a quick hitch, good food, laundry, and a comfortable room. Not a bad way to end this section.