a long trip to Bishop

Day 44 ~ [pct] miles 786 - 788.5

We slept really late because we were really exhausted, and also we knew if we awoke and started hiking early, the kids would sleep later and pass us anyway.  In addition to being younger than us, they are also much faster and more energetic than us.  We didn't want to get off of the trail and have 10 people in front of us trying to get a ride into town.  By the time we woke up, the kids were all gone.

We took our time packing up.  We didn't have our usual "going to town" motivation.  Perhaps it was because the task of getting to Bishop was so daunting, as it is nearly 60 miles from the trail.

Usually, hiking into town is easy, probably because we usually have that extra motivation.  Today, that was not the case.  The hiking was so difficult, and it didn't help that we had to hike 7.5 non-PCT miles UP and over Kearsarge Pass.  After way longer than it should've taken, we arrived at the "road".  We didn't realize it, but this "road" was actually just a parking lot for the trailhead at the end of a 17 mile mountain road.  That meant that our chances for getting a ride decreased dramatically, as our only option would be with a hiker, but we were hopeful since it was a Sunday.  We got a piece of carrot cake (my favorite) and a banana from a nice lady   who was camping, and ended up getting a ride fairly quickly with 2 young guys from LA to Independence, the first leg of our journey. 

Next, we had 42 miles remaining to Bishop, and we were quickly picked up by a friendly gentleman with another hiker in the car.  The hiker was actually getting off of the trail due to injury.  They dropped us off at the Vagabond Inn, where Joker and Cracker Keeper already had a room for us to share. 

A block of 3 rooms were all full of thru-hikers, and we had a great afternoon and evening hanging out, eating town food,and doing our chores. 

Looking forward to a full day of rest and relaxation here tomorrow.