The last stage of the Triple Crown of the calendar year

This morning Slide and I got some sleep. But we had to get up and pack our bags to head to the airport. I procrastinated reserving my ticket until yesterday at 4 pm. But in a very predictable way, it worked perfectly for me. In fact, I was able to book my flight to Albuquerque that had the same layover in Denver as Slide. Which meant our first flight would be together. That was just a pleasant surprise. And it also meant that we didn’t have to say goodbye at the airport or right when we were leaving the hotel or anything like that.

Once we packed our bags we went to have breakfast at the hotel. Then I met up with Big Mama around 9:30am. I was so excited to see her because Slide and I realized yesterday that he had met her too. Big Mama helped him carry him when he was on the PCT in 2023. He actually flipped through his phone and found the photo of them together pretty quickly. I knew then it was going to be a fun encounter with her.

It took him a second to realize, but he finally remembered Slide and also had pictures of them together. It is very curious how the road works. It was great hanging out with Big Mama as we started heading towards the Medford airport. I am very happy to have seen her several times while I was in Ashland. She’s like my mom away from home!

We arrived pretty early for our flight, so we spent some time with Big Mama at the airport. In fact, he gave me one of those IKEA bags that I could put some of my stuff in and use as a checked suitcase. Which is really good because I always want to check my trekking poles, my knife, my mace and things like that. Then I sat outside and repacked some of that stuff before we headed to the airport.

We had plenty of time before the flight, which was a really nice feeling. So after going through security, we sat down and had some lunch. I got the most delicious sandwich melted with turkey, avocado and bacon. I love a melt. Then we sat at the airport, waiting for the flight to board. But it ended up getting ridiculously late! Which I didn’t really mind because my connecting flight was much later. But Slide had a 30-minute time window between his connections. So, as we were sitting at the gate, he began to accept the fact that he might miss his next flight.

Slide, Big Mama and me.

Since we booked the tickets so late, we didn’t have seats together on the plane. But we realized that I had a window seat, meaning bargaining power. So we were hoping that the person sitting next to Slide would be nice and willing to trade their aisle seat for a window seat. And that’s exactly what happened! The guy was super nice and couldn’t care less. And he was happy to trade his aisle seat for my window seat, a little further back. Which meant that Slide and I would sit next to each other on the flight to Denver. It’s great how things turn out even when you don’t plan anything until the last minute.

The flight was super fast, but it was going to be very close for Slide. Fortunately, so many people had connections that the flight attendant had to make an announcement asking everyone to remain seated once we landed to let off the sixty or so passengers who had connections of less than 20 minutes. So I said a quick goodbye to Slide and he basically ran off the plane. There was a small chance that she would miss her flight and she would see him shortly after. But I was hoping that wouldn’t happen, even though it would have been great to see him again.

Big Mama really did a great job taking so many photos these past few days.

I had so much time before my flight that I could just walk around the airport. Slide sent a text message saying he caught his flight because it was delayed. So I started walking over there because he was sitting by the door. The Denver airport is very large, so he was still a few doors away when he had to board. Instead, I just went, grabbed some food, and then sat on my doorstep. I bought a shake shack, which I hadn’t tried in a long time. Their products are very expensive, but I really like their cheese fries and the sauce on their burgers. I also had an espresso shake that was delicious. Then I went and sat at my door for about an hour before I boarded.

Sitting and waiting for my flight to Albuquerque.

It was a strange feeling sitting alone at the door. The last few days have been a real whirlwind. The combination of things definitely put me in a strange mood now. I didn’t really think much about finishing the PCT until now. Now here I am at the airport getting ready to land back in New Mexico. Which definitely seems pretty surreal. And I’ve been waiting to see Slide for a long time. Having something to look forward to definitely helped me with the huge mileage I’ve been putting in the last few months. I am good at motivating myself day after day. And the motivation of getting through Colorado before winter was enough to keep me on track. But knowing in the back of my head that when I ended up in Ashland, I would be able to see him definitely made it even easier. That had been on the horizon for a long time, and then the moment passed in the blink of an eye. So it was kind of fun to sit with that. Although that’s exactly how life works and how things always happen.

My last flight from Denver to Albuquerque was super fast. Honestly, both flights were very fast. You practically spend more time at the airport than in the air. When I landed in Albuquerque, I grabbed my suitcase and then made a reservation at a hotel. My flight didn’t arrive until 8:40 pm And since my shoes never arrived at the hotel, now I needed shoes. And there are no equipment stores in any of these small towns before you reach the CDT terminal. The best material store is in Chama, the town I have already passed through.

Landing in New Mexico.

But luckily there is an REI not far from the airport. So I found a hotel that was right down the street from the REI. Which opens tomorrow at 9 am So I’ll be able to spend the night in Albuquerque tonight and get shoes tomorrow morning. So hopefully we’ll be back on the track early tomorrow afternoon. At least as soon as possible.

I got an Uber on the way to the hotel and was surprised that there were tons of people trying to check in. Apparently there is some kind of parade. But the lady at the hotel seemed to think it was a very normal activity for a Friday night. I guess I just didn’t realize how popular Albuquerque was. However, I got into a room pretty quickly and then got situated. He then ordered some food and walked across the street to a gas station to get some drinks.

I didn’t really even look around the hotel too much. But magically I booked a place that had everything I could need. I love when that works magically. Then I went back to the room, showered, edited, and finally had dinner. It was already very late, but I still had a lot of energy. Today is my third zero day! My body doesn’t know what to do with itself.

I ended up staying up until almost 2 in the morning editing. And I wasn’t trying to stay awake at all. I had so much energy that I couldn’t have gone to bed even if I wanted to. So I just ate a lot of food and worked as hard as I could. It was actually incredibly productive, which felt great. Then, finally, I had to try to force myself to go to sleep. Fortunately, when I have this much energy, I usually do well by sleeping less. I think my body is so used to being exhausted over the last year that it will be perfectly happy after these 3 zero days.

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