Breakfast and packing the car take all morning, so we’re around for one more lunch with my dad and Sarah. I continue to pile in all the calories I can.

Once again we’re on I-70, through the Eisenhower Tunnel, and into Silverthorne. I return to the Wendy’s parking lot feeling much better than when I left it. My feet are still a little blistered, so I decide to walk this stretch in my Chaco sandals as they have never caused blisters.

The roar of the freeway recedes very slowly as I climb north out of the valley toward Ptarmigan Peak. I get views of the condo-packed valley and sailboats on the Dillon Reservoir.

Once I make it over Ptarmigan Pass the noise is gone. A gentle rain falls, the trail fades in and out, and I feel like I’m in wilderness again. I find a single small flat spot for my tent near the South Fork Williams Fork Creek and settle in for the night.