Escalante day 8

Back at car at 2:17 PM. I decided to check out the trail that kid in the cove told me about last night, and it was the Crack-in-the-Wall trail I was looking for. Right above where I camped. I saw some people hiking way up above me, and knew I had to catch them to see if they had a car. My car was parked 9 miles from the head of this trail, and I planned on hiking it if I had to, and hope that I could flag down a rare driver on the road. They helped the situation by pausing in the shade under the "Wall" and when I got to them (I saw a dead scorpion on the way to them) I chatted, and they offered me some granola bar which I declined. I did ask if they had a car on top, and they did, and I asked if I could catch a ride back to my car if they were headed that way. They looked at each other, and said sure. I asked them where they were from, and they said Bozeman. Imagine that!

Their names are Victor, Elliot, and Tom. God provides. So I got to chill with three college kids from MSU for the afternoon, on the 3-4 mile hike across the sand and desert on top. We got in Tom's black Subaru, which was designed for three college kids on a roadtrip and all their stuff, not a 40 year old hitchhiker from their hometown. So now I am tanning my right side in the passenger seat of my Explorer under 70 degree, cloudless, hazy lazy blue sky. I sent texts to erica, Louis, Mom and Dad and should write more later. This feels GOOD!.