Stuck in Augusta!

Day 134

Date: 12.09.2022

CDT Mile: Mile 2'747.7

Miles hiked: 4.6 miles / 7.4 km

Elevation: 285 feet ascent (87 m Aufstieg) / 518 feet descent (Abstieg 158 m)

Camping at: 5'069 feet / 1'546 m

We got up and finally picked up our mail boxes! We run into Cheetah, Mouse and Captain there too. I also took some extra clothes with me as a warmer hoodie, an extra pair of warm baselayer pants, and my long mammut hiking pants. The weather is very unpredictable as of now and it can snow or get very cold in no time. I want to be prepared for it and not freeze my ass off! However, all these extra clothes add quite some weight to my backpacks baseweight.

Before heading back to trail we say goodbye to Piper and Duskman. They decided to stay here another day and may we will not see them again. While sitting and talking other hikers get to town. There is 'Shuttle', an elderly women, actually the first hiker I have met on trail at the first water cache in New Mexico after 14 miles in. She is a triple crowned and since then I have never seen her again! And also Shey hikes in, whom I've last seen in Leadville, CO. Our goodbye takes much longer than anticipated and we only hike to town at noon. We try to reach out for Frank several times agaian, who is offering shuttles back to the trailhead, but he doesn't pick up his phone. So we hike out of town and try to get a hitch, but no luck. There is no single car driving up that way. We decide to walk back to town and get lunch and try to reach out for Frank again. As some tourists talk to us, they paid for our lunch before they left, that is awesome! They didn't say anything but when we wanted to pay we were informed that these tourists settled our bill already! But still no sign of Frank. We discuss our options. 1. Stay in town and hit all the bars/restaurants, trying to ask for a hitch, 2. Go back to the hotel and hope for a hitch or that Frank drives by there, 3. Hike to the beginning out he dirt road and try to hitch from there, as most of the cars driving up the dirt road will go in direction trail head. We decided for option no. 3. And found a shady spot in a grass field under a tree. But within like 3 or 4 hours least than a handful of cars drive by and they are either full or not driving up all the way to the trailhead. Just when we are about to give up and head back to the Motel, Frank drives by. He said he was very busy all day and will drive us up there but fur USD 60, instead of USD 40, for both of us. At first we weren't sure, USD 60 is a lot of money but then we decided to take the offer. It is along drive, about 45 minutes and the second part of the dirt road is quite bad and takes time. So finally by 6.30pm we are back at the trailhead. Today is is not at all what we planned for, this day has rather been a disaster so far! We got stuck in Augusta much longer than we hoped for! We planned to hike 15-20 miles today, but that is definitely not gonna happen anymore. It is getting dark already. It is still super smoky and there is no sun out at all. Our backpacks are super heavy, loaded with a loooot of food and all my warmer clothes I packed in too. I feel like every step I take there is a whole afterwards in the trail, so heavy is my pack! We only get to hike a few miles before it's dark and we get camp. Let's see if we can still make it to East Glacier by Friday...

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