26mi

Departed at 7 AM with taxi driver Joe from Simple Lodge/Hostel with Sherpa C then picked up Wire Rims at a motel. We started hiking by 8 o'clock. We split the $60 ride 3 ways. Rims shared a Cinnamon rolls and orange juice to supplement his mediocre continental breakfast at the motel he stayed at. Met a family with two kids that were baffled that I walked all the way from Mexico to them and then to Canada. "You two should hike a trail when you get older" I said. The eyes of the two boys lit up. Another passerby was curious if I survived off fish that I caught while hiking, which is a big no. Pretty sure they may have been high or something. Dayhikers were everywhere today, likely since trail was snow free all day.

We walked through the nearly snowless Monarch Mountain ski resort, a peculiar sight. Pulled away by lunch time from the other two trying to get at least 25 miles in on this shorter day, usually I've packed up and on trail by 5:30am. Being Sunday it seemed like everyone was emerging from the woods from the trails branching out from Hancock Trailhead. "Normies" I said to myself jokingly. The trail following the trailhead was formerly an old section of railroad called the Sawmill Curve, apparently only the best engineers were sent on this route for being so dangerous. Both Sherpa and I trucked 26mi just before a long up.