Day 55- Mt. Garfield to Zealand Falls Hut. 10 miles.

This morning I woke up really early at 5 a.m. and I would usually just look at my watch and go back to sleep, but this morning I made myself wake up and crawl out of my tent. I have wanted to see a beautiful sunrise since I've been out here and I definitely got my wish. I sat out just watching the sun rise for over and hour- it was the most beautiful sunrise of my life. Bomber and I then packed up and headed out for the day. My knees have been bothering me a lot again, so I was pretty slow, but we nonetheless ended up making our way down the trail. My slow pace made us embrace the lazy hiking day, so Bomber put on some music and I sang and wiggled (my form of dancing while walking) while walking. We also played some memory games to occupy our minds for a bit. I saw a really pretty rocky area on a ridge where a northbounder, Mud, was taking a break and we joined him. Just moments after sitting down two hikers came up to us and asked if we were thru hikers. We responded that we were and they said they had a proposition for us. Turns out, they were hut crew at Zealand Falls Hut, where we were headed for the night. One of their crew members had to leave for the night and they needed some extra hands to help out. They interviewed us and said a PBR was at stake and we hopped on board. They told us that we'd have a lot of extra work to do, but they would give us fresh, hot food in return. Mmmmm hot pancakes and bacon. Oh yes we agreed! Bomber and I arrived at Zealand Falls around 5 and joined the crew for dinner preparation. We washed dishes for most of the evening and were introduced to the guests. Later on, we sat with the guests and got to answer a lot of questions that they had about thru hiking. The day wound down to it pouring rain outside. I was so happy to be inside and snuggled up in my sleeping bag.