Miles: 17.5 Steps: 36,022 Vertical gain: 3,994 Liquid consumed: 116 oz Wildlife: Humans, squirrels, thatscreskky it today Faith in Humanity: Sue gave me a ride to Twin Lakes and even have me a generous parting gift, thank you so very much! Vanessa and Linda: you were great too! And special thanks goes out to Rich for hosting me and really hooking things up as he always does! Even though I was tempted to stay in the Aspen area longer, visit friends and improve my website, planning, and so much more, it was time to go! I woke up and packed up. My pack is huge now. This is what I’ve added: down pants, another wool mid-layer, new camera equipment, and 3 pounds of maps for this segment of the adventure! Car dude was great, so fun to talk to Sue, Vanessa, and Linda! Ran into some traffic in Aspen, dream be over Independence Pass was beautiful, and got to the Twin Lakes General Store around 10am. I bought a soda and left fairly quickly. First up was kind of a bushwhack with a creek crossing with no bridge. It was easy and flat though and saved me a few miles to go around the lake which I’ve done before several times. A ton of hikers around the historic Interlaken Lodge which is an abandoned building where people used to get all fancy ay but now it’s getting restored. Up and down today, including a 2,700 foot climb to end the day. I didn’t make it to the top so I’m camped at 11,3000 feet! New shoes are awesome! New sleeping pad is a little slippery but so awesome! Ok I’ve got to go to bed!