Daily Miles: 18.8
Total Miles: 43.5
This was my second day of hiking with the full pack and was a much harder and longer day. Not just because of the mileage, but because of the culture shock I am putting my body through. The good news: No blisters so far!!!! The hot spot I felt last night turned out to be nothing this morning. The bad news is my shoulders and my hips both hurt like hell. This is my third time attempting a long distance hike and the second day (with full pack) is always the worst. It takes about a week or two for those muscles you dont use just walking or running to get themselves accustomed to the beating us hikers put them through.
I was actually quite shocked that I was able to get moving around 5:20 this morning. I had the tent and everything packed and ready to go by 6:00AM. I ust had to filter some more water from the spring. Here is what a typical water source out here in the desert looks like. Usually it is a piped spring that drops into a holding area of some kind. If the flow stops and the source dries out you are pretty much screwed if you depended on it. Some people would probably filter right out of the trough, but in this instance I would rather be dehydrated.
Yes those are hundreds of tadpoles in the trough. Glad I wasn't desperate and the pipe was still flowing.
So, even though I was sore and fully loaded with 6 liters of water again, I was actually able to cruise through the first 5 miles. The trail wound again around a bunch of wind turbines and through a burn area from a forest fire a few years ago. It sucks to hike through a burn area because there is no shade, but it is pretty cool to see all sorts of small plants and grasses trying to fill the void of the understory.
After the burn area began the first of three major ascents today. Whereas a lot of the altitude gained and lost on this trail is more gradual, these 3 climbs today could have been transplanted from the Appalachian Trail where the trail is known to bomb right up and down the hills. I feel like it was hotter today too but have no way of telling. Needless to say I took a LOT of breaks. I also was able to time my water perfectly as well having only a 1/4 liter left of the original 6 when I walked into the spring tonight.
The other notable highlight today was passing the 600 mile mark on the trail.
For me it wasn't a big deal but for all the people I am around who have walked from the mexican border it is.
I'm starting to get to know some of the people out here that are in the same area as me thruhiking. It's hard being the new guy trying to join a group of people who have known each other for 6-8 weeks already on trail. Some people have been very friendly though, and hopefully by the time I hit my first planned resupply later in the week, I might find somebody willing to split a hotel room with me.
Arriving at Robin Bird Spring was by far the best feeling I have had the last few days. I hit a wall about 2-3 miles before the end of the day and had to force myself to just keep going and get there. I knew there weren't going to be too many good tentsites to camp at there, and I was nervous when I must have been passed by 15-20 people today. I was scared I might have to filter water and hike on out trying to find a tentsite further up the trail. I didn't feel like tacking on more miles when my body already felt wiped.
Luckily, most of the people who had passed me had either already moved on or planned to move on so I was able to get a great spot.
Tomorrow, I should actually have multiple water sources, so at least for part of the day I won't have to lug out 6 liters. That's about it for tonight....
Patch
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