Back on trail and storms

Day 113

Date: 22.08.2022

CDT Mile: Mile 2'257.2

Miles hiked: 20.8 miles / 33.3 km

Elevations: 4'114 feet ascent (1'254.7 m Aufstieg) / 3'136 feet descent (Abstieg 956.5 m)

Camping at: 8'661 feet / 2'641.6 m

Randy, our shuttle driver is picking us up at 9am, to bring us back to trail. Us is our group of four, Mountain Goat and Shotgun. He points out however thing is still green, due to a lot of rain they got this year, which is very unusual. I know it's good for the nature, but in the view if a hiker I don't really like it! While reaching the trailhead, we can see two hikers waiting for a ride to town. It's 'Info', who had to get off trail for a tooth operation and is back now and 'Señor Guapo'', whom I've last seen in the Great Divide Basin before Lander. He asks 'Mr. Freeze, how are your feet? The last time I've seen you, you had more tape than feet!' That is true, due to my bad blisters my feet were pretty taped up. Luckily they are doing much better now.

We hike out all together around 10am. It's super hot and the sweat is just running down my face. My backpack is loaded. With 5-6 days of food for the next 122 miles stretch and 1.5 liters of water. After 3 miles already I had to take off my pack to relief my bag. It's a gentle uphill hike so far and luckily we have reached trees now and hike in the shade. 3 more miles and I meet back up with Cheetah and Captain at the first water source shortly before 12am. This water source is about 0.2 or 0.3 miles off trail, a steep downhill path to a spring. I wait for Mouse to get here too before I hike on again. It's another 6 miles to the next water source on trail. I am there around 2pm. We are doing good progress for starting late and even with climbing, the hot temperatures and the heavy backpack we managed to hike 3 miles an hour. We decided to hike 9 more miles today, in order to hopefully get to Darby by Friday evening, if we hike 25 miles at least all the other days. We have done quite some climbing already, but they have mostly been gentle and easy. Just as we point that out and continue to hike, the climbs get brutally steep. Oh man, we shouldn't have said anything! These next 6 miles to the last water source of today took us longer. The uphills were short, but very steep. And also the weather has changed. The sun disappeared and we could see rain and storms in the distance, till we reached that distance and it started to rain on us too. Quickly we jumped into our rain gear (how I love it!), but as we couldn't see any lightening close by and the rain wasn't too bad, we hiked on. When we reached the junction to the spring, again a steep off trail path, the rain stopped. I packed out a philly cheese sandwich (actually my lunch for today but I skipped lunch and had a twix instead), and chips and cookies. I fill up 2 liters of water which makes my backpack even more heavier! Gosh, what did I pack in there?! But the next water is only in 9 miles, and as we camp in around 3 miles, we will be dry camping, meaning having no water source around before we hike another 6 miles tomorrow morning.

While pitching our tents at 7.30pm, it started to rain again. Really? Quickly I oraganise my food and hang my ursack, before getting into my tent. After the rain however we can see the colors of a beautiful sunset between the trees and hear a lot of strange noises in the dark! Better I put in my earplugs 🙈 good night!

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