Tuesday, June 2nd-Day 41

We stayed up until around ten thirty last night, late for us. At about four in the morning, Mark suddenly started talking to us, loudly. I'm not sure what he was saying, but we tried for a while to ignore him, hoping he'd get the idea. He did not. I think he was going on about how great it is that we're doing this, and how nice it was that we were able to hang out with him and Tony, who he would sometimes address. Tony, who was sleeping in the RV, did not answer. After about ten minutes and one round of Mark saying "I know you guys are awake," I finally responded, and we talked briefly until I convinced him that maybe it was time to go back to sleep. He quieted down for about half an hour, and started again. This time, it was Jerry's turn, and I fell back asleep while they chatted. After that he and Tom talked. By then, it was five thirty, so we just got up. I found myself wondering if we were in the presence of a truly crazy person as I came back from the bathroom, and then in the morning light, I got a look at him. He was leaning up against the inside rear corner of the house, sitting on a stack of pillows, and there was an empty 1.75 liter vodka bottle in his hand. It was five thirty in the morning, and he was smashed because he's been drinking all night. We sat around for a while as he made the same jokes over and over again until he finally fell asleep. Tony got up and made a delicious breakfast, and after we ate, we napped in the shade inside the house. We woke up at noon, packed, and thanked our hosts for a great evening and an unusual morning. Then Tony took us back to the trailhead, where we ate hot dogs for lunch before finally heading back out. Another twelve or thirteen miles, and here we are.

We did find an awesome campsite. There's a small grove of trees and soft, clear ground. In the middle of the grove, someone left bags full of salami and Crystal Light. It was like finding a treasure chest! Night.