May 12th - Julian to 3rd Gate

Spent an uneasy night with our sleeping bags rolled out in the back parking lot of Pie Town Gear. There were a lot of stray cats roaming around and I had this crazy fear that one was going to pounce down on me from the retaining wall above where we were camped. Luckily, we survived the night without an attack by a ferocious kitty. The day was spent wasting time - waiting for our ride back to the trail at 4pm. We were able to hit up the library, coffee shop, and Miner's Diner one last time. All day we were antsy to get back to the trail. By 4:45pm we were back on the trail. Hauled up the ridge like it was nothing. We both felt strong. Amazing what 24 hours of rest and good food will do to a body! Hiked 13 miles uphill to the 3rd gate water cache by 10pm. The last 2 hours were in the dark. There were a few harrowing moments as we were traversing steep slopes with high winds in the dark of night. We played an imaginary game of "Adventure Race" and we won. :) Spent another lovely night under the stars. We are lovin' the cowboy camping!