Wow, I'm very happy with today. I got a ride with a nice lady going to Lake City. She picked me up across from the Days Inn and dropped me off at the trailhead. She said I looked like a hiker so she stopped. That's good because its harder to hitch in a town when you look like a bum.

The weather wasn't great but the hike up Foose Creek then South Foose Creek was really very nice. And although there was a lot of thunder there was only a little drizzle. The first 5 miles went super fast because the uphill was so gradual. The next 4 steepened but it wasn't bad until the end when I hiked up out of the basin onto the Continental Divide.

Originally I had planned to just hike 5-8 miles in because there was supposed to be some problem snow which would be soft in the afternoon plus I'd have an extra full backpack. Lucky I talked to a mountain biker who told me there wasn't much snow and that I should go on to Green Creek Shelter for the night. I'm very happy I did. There was lightning and a wall of rain that I barely avoided. This 3 sided lean-to shelter is a great place to be in a storm. It isn't quite as nice as those on the AT but I'm not complaining.