Unwanted Zero day in Cuba due to Columbus Day

Day: 150

Date: 10.10.2022

CDT Mile: Mile 2'345.6

Miles hiked: 0 miles / 0 km

Camping at: 6'906 feet, Cuba Motel / 2'106 m

I had a wonderful recovering night in a bed. But then waking up in the morning I don't feel any motivation to get back on trail. What's going on with me? Why do I not look forward to get back on trail? I am worried if I can hike that many miles, with much less daylight and a painful knee? Also being back in the desert means less water on trail, as water is more scarce now again. About every 15 to 20 miles there is water. That means a lot of water to carry, which is very heavy! I am really not sure If I shall continue or just call it the end. I hate making that or any other decision at the moment. Check-out time is at 11am, and we just leave the hotelroom by that time, still haven't done any decision yet. Luckily also Doc and Recharge just leave the hotelroom. Together we go to the mexican place to eat bf/lunch. It is much easier to hike out with some friends on trail and to stop thinking too much. Suddenly, I hear my name behind me. Bearmum and Butterfly, who quit the trail in Wyoming, drive by in a car! They decided to come back to trail and hike some sections. That is incredible that we managed to run into each other again! They give me a ride to the 0.6 miles away Post Office, just to find out that today is Columbus Day, a federal holiday in the US, and hence the Post Office is closed. What? Not again! We really do not have much luck with post offices in the US. Nearly every time I have send myself a resupply box, there was an issue as a public holiday or a weekend!

Well, nothing we can do but stay for another night. Again we have the right timing, as we cross path with Doc and Recharge hiking out, we were supposed to meet on trail again. We inform them about our Dilemma, and really it didn't take much convincement, both of them decided to stay another day here too🤣 it is too hot anyway to hike out now and who in the hell is hiking out into the desert at lunch? We can share a hotelroom and get another really cheap town day. I am so happy they decided to stay too, that means we will hike out tomorrow together. However, we will still have to pick up our resupply box and organize food for the next stretch.

As the reception of the Motel only opens at 2pm, we spend time buying water, chips and some other resupplies. We spend the afternoon relaxing in our room, enjoying a face mask, making us all look like smurfs, watching american football, staying dry when another thunderstorm and rain rolled in (!)Y talking to other CDT hikers outside our rooms and eating good mexican food agai. It was far past hiker midnight when we finally got to bed. I hope we manage to hike out tomorrow at a decent time and not only in the late afternoon🙈

Post note: we met 'King Wallaby' the next morning, telling us he was being snowed in and slept in a privy last night! It must have been miserable. So may it was a good thing that the post office was closed and we couldn't hike out! The weather forecast for the upcoming 4 days shows sunshine only. Let's hope that's true!

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