Saturday July 5, 1.5mi/2.4km

Dry Creek Canyon (834.8/2630ft) to Dry Creek Canyon (833.3/2990ft) (ID)

Matt and Justine had planned to come and pick me up at 6:30, as I packed up my wet tent after the good rainstorm last night, I noticed a big dry square where it had been. Funny!

They were a little delayed in arriving, and since I was already packed up, I decided to hike to stay warm, as it was still a little rainy and cold. I love seeing the fog in these little forested valleys, reminds me of the Oregon coast.

I covered about a mile, before I heard a vehicle driving up the road, and I knew it was them since nobody else drives this road. We stopped at the bakery in Clark Fork, which had so many amazing looking things.

Usually I would get a cinnamon roll but the Huckleberry danishes looked irresistible. It was a solid half hour drive to Sandpoint, and they gave me a tour of their house, I kept getting distracted by all the cool little pieces of artwork hidden throughout.

And the dog, Red was simply adorable.

We had a fun time discussing all sorts of various topics, mostly involving hiking in different trails, and I could stare at maps for hours.

I have the guidebook for the ICT on my phone, but it’s just easier to read a print book, so I did a little bit of planning too. The day flew by just chatting, and before I knew it it was mid-afternoon, so I went downtown to check out all the little shops and the Main Street.

Sandpoint even has a legit outdoor store!

And it had several ice cream shops, I found the one with all the clever slogans like “Bad to the Cone” and funny ice cream themed artwork.

Justine’s store was fun to visit, I especially loved the sign out front with all the Idaho factoids.

The three of us picked up some takeout Thai food and then went back to the house and had dinner, it was the perfect level of spiciness and I’m sure I won’t be getting Thai food again for a very long time. After more delightful conversation I was ready for bed, it was only 9pm but that’s basically hiker midnight.