Date: 2018-06-20
From: Lewis campground

To: Big Meadows Lodge
Miles today: 8.7

This morning I woke up pretty early to get ready. I didn't feel the need to sleep in as I usually do. Flex and Curly Turtle were up and already getting ready. I packed up and ate cold soaked oatmeal for breakfast. Flex and Curly Turtle had room reservations at the big meadows lodge. It was a fancy place in the park. I headed out at 8 am. My first goal was the wayside about 8 miles away.The trail as gradual and smooth today with not many climbs. I met a day hiker with his dog. He asked me about thru hiking and took an interest in my hiking sandals. I asked him for directions for the wayside. He said it was about 1.5 miles ahead. I took his word then pushed on.  We passed a cemetery on the way then I saw a sign for Lewis falls. Thinking none of it I hiked to the campground.  When I walked around I asked a woman about directions to the wayside. She pointed me to an RV just down the road. I walked up to the RV and saw Kayne and Zippy. They told me the bad news. We passed the turn off for the wayside. It was now a mile downhill. The RV owners Betty and Dick offered us beer and I happily accepted. They had a general interest in thru hikers and had not given out trail magic before. Betty started making food for everyone. Dick was driving to the wayside to pickup more beer. I grabbed a ride from him since I needed to buy a few resupplies. As I was leaving the wayside, Stealth spotted me. He was hanging out in the field drinking boxed wine. I asked him if he wanted to jump in on this trail magic and definitely did. Dick gave a ride for Stealth and I back to the campsite. We all happily chowed down on hot dogs, pulled pork sliders, salad, chips, and cookies. They fed us really well. It started to rain hard and we all took shelter under the rain fly of the RV. Rivers started to form near the RV's tires. They offered us shelter in their RVs as the rain poured down. A few other hikers came down the trail and Betty being an entertainer offered them beer and shelter as well. Stealth and I hung out until we were the last ones left. We said our goodbyes to our hosts and headed down the trail.  Stealth got a message from Rebel Yell who was hanging out at the taproom at the lodge. Stealth and I decided to backtrack to the lodge to get beer with Rebel Yell. We cut through the campsite and made our way to the lodge. Solo and Goonie were with Rebel when we arrived. I ordered a few IPAs and wings with a salad. We talked about how we were probably the smelliest people in the room. Stealth went to check on renting a room for the night. He had made friends with all the hotel workers upstairs. We pulled the trigger and got a room for the night. We had only hiked 8 miles today as well. Stealth was told that the cabin had two beds but when we opened the cabin we only found one bed. The bed was a twin too. We were going to get super cozy tonight. Stealth, Rebel Yell, and I walked to the camp store in the rain to get more beer for the night. We didn't want to spend taproom prices on beer. No one wanted to give us a hitch to the store about a mile away. We got soaked but it really didn't matter. We picked up some beer, wine, and snacks. I also got black berry ice cream. It was so good. Rebel smooth talked a middle aged woman to give us a ride back. We rocked out to Janis Joplin on the way back and thanked her for the ride. We chilled in the cabin for a bit then Stealth and Rebel went to the taproom to bum some smokes. They ran into a park ranger they knew and he bought them a round of drinks. On the way back to the cabin they saw a whole bunch of screech owls hanging out near the dumpster. They invited me outside but I was way too tired to move. I ate a whole bunch of snacks in bed like a bum.Tonight I'm in a small bed with Stealth. It's not that bad.