He might have decided to run by then, although I'm not sure why he would be so forthcoming about GP and the van then.
I guess I just have to swim against the current and admit that I cannot convince myself that he hiked and hitchhiked for an alibi. Nothing about that makes sense. But this is a murderer I'm trying to figure out. I'm trying to reason the unreasonable. LE noted he was acting nervous in Moab. He claimed he has anxiety. There are reported sightings of him acting strangely before the murder. If he took off hiking without GP and acted nervous, anxious, or strange to the hitchhiker rides, that doesn’t seem overly out-of-character for him, imo.
Him killing her after the hike and taking off immediately after? That makes sense. But I know that doesn't make it so. I'm sorry, everyone, for not letting this issue rest. I'll lay quiet for awhile.