Day 75 – 7/6/13 – 0 mi (1270.5)

This was the most exhausting zero day I’ve ever had. Here’s the quick rundown of events. I caught up with Goodness over breakfast before he left town, then joined the gang for resupply shopping and other errands, including LoveNote and Stryder washing their sleeping bags at the laundromat. I didn’t wash mine, but I did paint my nails with LoveNote while waiting.

In the afternoon, Stryder, LoveNote and I met up with the Fraser hitch guys, who we’re calling Peaches and Cream, and floated the Yampa river through town on tubes with them and Cream’s 3 year old daughter. I never saw the appeal of tubing before, but it was actually great fun and relaxing.

Peaches, Cream, and Swiffer, who was out of town, are in Steamboat building a passive energy house. They’re living on the building site in an Airstream with an awesome view over town. Ninja and Sweetfish joined us after the float and we went over and bbq’d up some kabobs at the job site. Sweetfish also decided this was a good time for the half gallon challenge, eating an entire half gallon of ice cream in one sitting to celebrate the halfway mark of the trail (we’re pretty close if not quite there yet). It was disgusting and hilarious to watch him struggle, but he eventually succeeded after one hour and 12 minutes. Then he still ate some kabobs and corn on the cob.

Nearly dark, our day was not yet done. Our gang and Peaches all hit up the hotsprings just outside of town. They were crowded but very nice and we got a fantastic lightning show while there. As the storm moved in we wisely got out but watched a while longer from under a roof.

It was midnight when we finally got back to Trent’s. I am more exhausted today than I’ve been from a day of hiking this entire trail.