Episode 53: Day 107-109

Day 107:

Left camp at about a quarter to eight and was hiking nonstop. I listened to an audiobook and I think that helped a lot. The book, Daring Greatly by Brené Brown, is about being honest with yourself and those around you. It was a meaningful read.

Its definitely warm today, but fortunately there’s just enough shade to go around – gotta appreciate what you got when you got it!

Speaking of appreciating, TRAIL MAGIC! Came across some good, old fashioned H20. It hit the spot. Thanks Kathy!

A little later, I met some southbounders who started the trail 6 weeks ago. Hard to believe the border is that close!

Ran into Blur again, but this time he was up for conversation. It didn’t last very long though, due to his aggressive hiking speed. In the early evening I caught up with him – but only because he was setting up camp. He invited me to join. WHAT SHOULD I DO? Hike on and get as many miles as I can OR spend some time with another human being? I caved… even I crave human interaction every once in a while.

18 Miles.

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Day 108:

I spent all day arguing with what I call “uphill voices.” Allow me to explain… So everyone (I think) has an internal dialogue. These conversations – with oneself – can be encouraging, distracting, or a variety of other things, depending on the kind of voices you’re hearing. Uphill voices say things like: take a break, this sucks, its too hot, i’m tired, etc etc. Uphill voices make a tough day that much tougher.

I took a break for lunch under some shade and 15 minutes after sitting down, the sun was in my face, so I slid over. 15 minutes later, the sun was in my face again! And then, a third time.  C’MON SUN! STOP MOVING!

It gets better, my water filter broke at my next stop. Something happened, i’m not sure what exactly, that caused the filter to go from a steady flow to a weak trickle. (Yes… I tried back-flushing it, like a million times. It didn’t help.)

I did have some cell service where I stopped for dinner and that was a nice distraction.

I kept on hiking, but the uphill voices got louder and louder: my feet hurt. This time, they won. I set up camp.

20 Miles today.

Views:

Umbrella is life:

Look what I found:

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Day 109:

I hit the trail early today, but the foot pain from last night is still lingering, Ibuprofen and podcasts will keep me going.

Ooh look, a human! His name is Quinn and he started the PCT on May 8th – just a week after I did. We hiked together for a couple of hours and then stopped for dinner. Enjoyed some great conversations about trail and life. He was still eating when I hiked out; I knew there was a sizable climb ahead of us and I wanted to get over it before dark. When I took a break on the way up, Quinn quickly passed. Hope to see him again.

Okay. Its dark now. But I have my handy dandy headlamp, and there is nothing to fear but fear itself, right? Right. Right? I hiked on for several miles before setting up camp. Im proud of me.

22 miles.

Deer me!:

Going a little crazy:

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