CDT - Day 79 - Grizzly Lake to South Fork Elk River
When I woke up this morning, I was happy to see that the mosquitoes hadn't started swarming my tent like they had the night before. Unfortunately, as soon as I began packing up, they started appearing and once again became an extreme nuisance. I made my coffee from inside my tent, keeping the bug screen zipped shut as much as possible. For the first mile or so, I wore my bug head net to keep the mosquitoes out of my face. By the time I climbed above the treeline, they had finally disappeared. I was able to take a few breaks and even filter water without getting swarmed. When I reached Buffalo Pass, I met three other CDT hikers who had just been dropped off there. They had decided to skip the section I had hiked because of the wildfire pre-evacuation order. The rest of the hike beyond Buffalo Pass was smooth sailing all the way to camp. The sun was out for most of the day, but a cool breeze kept the temperatures comfortable. I didn't really start feeling warm until I dropped below 10,000 feet. When I reached camp, I was excited to see that Airbud and Fitbit were already there. The hikers I had met earlier at Buffalo Pass eventually arrived as well, and we all spent the evening together. I finished listening to The Feeling of Life Itself by Christof Koch and then started The Hidden Spring by Mark Solms.