23.4 miles - Total to date - 596.2 miles
I finally fell asleep about midnight last night. I woke at two, but went back to sleep. At 3:00 am I saw Dimps moving about by headlamp. I feel back asleep. At 3:30 am Dimps woke me up to say he and Huck were heading out. I said that was good, because I could not keep up with them on the uphills, which was the first 7 miles of the day.
I was planning to sleep until 4:00 am, but now that I was awake I figured the half hour would be better spent hiking in the cool darkness than sleeping. I got up, packed, used the restroom and was out on the road by 4:00 am.
For the first mile the trail is highway 96. There was no traffic and I walked in the total darkness with my headlamp off. There was no moon, but the starlight was enough to allow me to see the fog line on the edge of the road. It was so peaceful and serene walking at this time of the morning. Cool. Quiet. Devine.
I checked Guthook on my phone to see when I was nearing the point where the trail left the road and headed up the hill. I found it, switched on my headlamp and started climbing. The trail made no bones about what its intentions were. It went relentlessly up. At about three miles from the RV Park I passed Top Notch and Road Runner sleeping just inches off the trail. They were both just waking up. I stopped to say hi, then continued on. Top Notch caught up with me about 45 minutes later.
I caught up with Huck and Dimps about 5.5 miles on. We chatted for a bit, then they rose to leave. I let them go in front. I cannot match their pace.
The rest of the morning and afternoon was hiking uphill until we reached the ridge line, then ridge running from then on. There was one 1000’ dip. Here I caught up with the three. There was a spring down a short side trail. I went down and filled up with four liters of water. The trail stays near the top of the ridge and is quite dry.
By 1:30 pm I had done 20.3 miles. There was a spring at this point and I considered stopping for the day and catching up on my blog, but the bees were thick and the camping was sub standard. The map showed camping three miles further on. It was still early so I refilled my four liters and walked to the next camp spot. It was perfect. I dropped my pack and began setting up my tent when I heard voices just up the trail. I went to investigate and found Huck and Dimps taking a rest in the shade. I talked with them for fifteen minutes, then returned to my camp spot, set up my tent, zipped myself into avoid the hornets and tried to write. I succeeded, although I would occasionally nod off due to my two early mornings.
Road Runner showed up about 5:00 pm. We had all been wondering where she was as she usually lives up to her name. She said she was not feeling great, but had taken some medicine and was now doing better. She hung around for half an hour cooking some Top Ramen, then left to make another four miles before calling it a day.
Frankly, I am amazed that I am hiking with the same kids I met a month ago. I thought they would have outdistanced me by now. To my advantage, they often go into a trail town and are slow to return to the trail giving me a chance to catch up. And, I have been doing 20 to 30 mile days which is similar to them, they just walk faster during the day where I start sooner and usually hike longer. Anyway, I am happy to be with them as they are great company and fascinating individuals. I just hope Derek skipped ahead when he rejoined the trail and is not too far behind. I would like to see him again before I leave the trail in two days and head for home.
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