Miles Hiked: 17.6
PCT Mileage: 511
I woke up feeling absolutely fatigued this morning. Everything hurt. I did start my period yesterday and usually I have a hard time hiking when that happens. I wasn’t surprised by how bad I felt. It took my time packing up camp and doing stretches before hiking up all the switch backs I went down last night back to the trail. I was going so slow because I felt so bad. I took a break after only three miles. Usually I like to get the most miles done in the morning but not today. Once again I didn’t plan to go far so I did have all day long to take my 100 breaks. My friend Money from the CDT gave me a call and lifted my spirits a bit. I continued hiking and taking breaks until the 500 mile mark where I hung out with Ashley and made a new friend named “Bitter Goat” he is triple crowning as well! Hitting the 500 mile mark today was the least exciting 500 mile mark I’ve ever walked by. I think it’s just because I’ve done it so many times at this point it’s nothing new. I’m looking forward to the 1 and 2k marks though. I played the 500 mile song as I’ve done every time I’ve hiked another 500 miles. At least that part never gets old.
After the 500 mile mark I hiked to the next water source which was a cistern that collected rain water. I had to crawl up underneath it and spin a circular lid off the top of it. I reached my arm down far to reach the dirty water that I scooped out with my soft water bag. When I pulled it up to look at it, it wasn’t bad. I continued to hang out with both Ashley and Bitter Goat there in the shade. I felt like a troll under a bridge. It was noon when I walked a few more miles to another shady break spot. The trail was very easy and cruisey. Once again I took a multi hour long break and stretched all my muscles. I wanted to push into Hiker Town tonight because I still had so much time and it wasn’t much farther. I knew it would be a bad idea because I was trying to take it easy and it would be over 20 miles. My shin started hurting the last mile before the last marked campsite before town. I decided that was my sign to stop hiking for the day so I pulled over and set up camp in a wind protected area of bushes and trees near Ashley. It was only 5pm. I was glad for all the time at camp to relax and rest up. I was worried why my shin started bugging me again but I’ll take two days mostly pain free! I planned to wake up early and hike the seven remaining miles to Hiker Town in early morning cool air.
Happy Trails!
-Early Bird
Des Hikes Thru 