My feet were on the trail but my head was not. My mind is starting to return home, thinking of all the things I need to do when I get back. Up until about 3 that is, when the storms rolled in again and I still had 2 exposed summits to go over. i watched the storms to the west float toward me as I climbed up and over some of the worst and rockiest footing of the trail at breakneck speeds. I breathed a huge sigh of relief as I crested the last summit and began my final descent to Taylor lake.

Just before dark laying warm and dry in my sleeping bag and tent, I heard a plane fly over….and then again, and again. It was the 3rd or 4th time before it registered that this wasn’t just another 747 with a flight path over the Rockies. I broke my mind from my reading and poked my head out of the tent. It was a helicopter circling the area. I watched as it made a few more circles and then landed on the summit of the last mountain I flew over about a 1/4 mile away as the crow flies. I could faintly hear male voices talking. 15 minutes later the helicopter took off. I can only assume it was a medical evacuation and hope that it wasn’t one of the thru-hikers behind me and thankful that I’d made it over the rocks in my panic without breaking an ankle or busting a knee. It could have easily been me heading to a hospital….again.

Another beautiful view

Another beautiful view