Wind. Lots of it. Weather service warning about it. It had blown all day yesterday but it really got after it once the sun went down. Everyone suffered all night long with tents flapping wildly in the wind, hitting us as we tried to sleep, making so much noise we couldn’t sleep. And if it calmed down for a few seconds it lessened the noise so you could hear the next gust coming, sounding like a freight truck roaring over the landscape. Lighthouse had ear plugs so he got a bit of sleep. I slept off and on, but that is usual for me. D’Anne says she didn’t sleep at all.
I had mentioned to the group that I liked getting up about 5:15am and hiking as the morning light in the east was just starting. Trudge and Lighthouse thought that sounded okay. D’Anne wasn’t too enthusiastic. I set my alarm for 5:15am and when it sounded I glanced over and saw Lighthouse and D’Anne had their headlights on and were rustling around. I ate my granola breakfast as I packed and was ready to go by 5:45. D’Anne was up and packing but the high winds made it nearly impossible for her to get her tent and ground tarp folded properly. Lighthouse and I assisted and we were packed and on the trail by 6:00am.
The wind continued to blow, but it did not impede our pace. Trudge and I walked the first 4 miles together, comparing lives and getting to know each other. It was 11 miles to the next water cache, 9 of it on gravel roads. This is the same road we were driven to the border on yesterday. Our route left that road just as today’s shuttles came round the corner.
We reached the water cache about 9:15am, spent 20 minutes resting and filling water, then shouldered our packs for the 13.7 miles to our destination, a water tank just off the trail that comments in the water report said had good water. There are four of us, D’Anne, Trudge, Lighthouse and me. The rest had slept a little longer.
We leapfrogged each other continuously for the
next few hours, sometimes following the CDT signs, sometimes following Guthook and sometimes walking trail or roads.
Three miles short of our destination we came upon a large tree casting glorious shade with 7 - 5 gallons jugs of water. I was the last to arrive. Trudge had already left for the water tank, D’Anne and Lighthouse were resting in the shade. I suggested we stay here. There were many flat places to camp and there was water. Decision - stay. We surveyed the area looking for sheltered places to pitch our tents thereby avoiding a repeat of last night’s wind fiasco. I parked mine in a grove of tree on actual vegetative duff. Lighthouse and D’Anne found a sandy spot out of the wind 30’ away and pitched theirs.
This all happened between 2:00pm and 4:00pm, giving us a long, restful, afternoon, something everyone needed.
Magic Mike showed up about 4:00pm having taken the actual trail rather than walking the road. He found the trail not brushy as reported to us by our drivers and in his opinion superior to the road walking. However, I noticed many scratches on his legs.
I relaxed in my tent as it quietly sat tucked in the bushes, no flapping. I am a bit fatigued, but am happy that I have no blisters, no sore muscles or joints and my Plantars is behaving itself. I will be happy to get the first three weeks completed and start to get in shape.
I found I have cell reception if I stand on the hill above camp. I had reception earlier today and was able to call Sally and Andy my resupply manager. This is how I am able to post these blogs.
Analysis: Awesome! So glad to be out here! So missing my wife, kids and grandkids and friends. Phone calls and texts will have to do.
Those are the Hatchet Mtns we were viewing from a distance. Now we are past them, heading north.
D’Anne and Trudge approaching the second water cache.
That road is the trail
Tucked in the trees to avoid the wind.
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