Day 26:  Cold, Very Pleasant Eve

Went down to about freezing last night.  I was comfy in my bag in only shorts and a tee and did not have to add clothing.

Frost and ice on my first peak this morning.  No pics till afternoon after I put my phone in my pocket to warm up.

In late afternoon I passed Steve, 67 year old thru-hiker.  His 22 year old granddaughter talked him into doing the trail with her.  They started at Katahdin in Maine.  She bailed out at Monson, the first place she could.  He kept going.  He isn’t angry with her but others in the family are not happy she took Grandpa to the mountains and left him there.

I ended the day at Hogback Ridge Shelter.  3 people there.  Two-Cups, who was by himself because of various issues his pal had.  He had more food than he needed and was generously sharing goodies.  Toe Jam and Night Stalker were hiking together.  Night Stalker had been a helo pilot, a cop and a train engineer.  As he said, everything a little boy wants to be.  Toe Jam has hiked all over the place.

It was a very pleasant evening.  We swapped tales for hours after dark.  Someone noted that it was nice to have a group of folks from the same generation and no 20 year olds for a change.