It was a chilly night in the 40s, I’ll have to wear more clothes at night going forward. I had my first encounter with a dreaded little mouse. It’s impressive how such a small creature can alter your day and plans for the next few days. I had placed my food bag in a bear box at the shelter, and mine was the only one in the box. The boxes are designed to keep the bears out… but they said nothing about the mice. Mr. Mouse was hungry last night and chewed a hole in my food back and my tortilla bag and nibbled on some of the edges of the tortillas. As a parting gift, Mr. Mouse also pooped all over my food bag and in the tortilla bag. This event resulted in a slower morning since we had to switch the tortillas to a new bag and mend the hole in the food bag. I can’t blame the little guy. He has to eat too!

Today, we had good weather, and I finally got all of my things dried out after the storm. We had a beautiful overlook at Ramrock Mtn around mile 19 and the a steep Ricky climb at Big Cedar Mtn.

I realized that Bo’s anti-pull collar is no match for his husky ancestors’ desire to pull. His collar had pinched his neck a bit, resulting in some dried blood, so we switched to his pack attachment instead. Don’t worry, Bo still has no issue pulling me up and over every mountain pass.

Micheal and I have continued to leap fog each other on the trail. I met “Tiger” from Austin, TX today, and his 2 friends, as well as Brett. Micheal and Brett, and I camped together that night, where we were later joined by a blast from the past. Gil (“Baby Talk”) arrived at camp, who was on another fire team in AmeriCorps with me about 3 years ago. It was great to see her and catch up. I’m planning to get into Neel Gap tomorrow… I have heard a rumor that there are frozen pizzas waiting at Mountain Crossings.

Day: 4

Date: 4/08/2025

Miles: 8.45

Camp: Lance Creek Campsite

At Mile: 24