Friday, August 28
Start: campsite beyond Knife’s Edge
End: Killen Creek
Miles: 31.9 miles
Gain/loss: 5472’/6562′
Listened to: book- Academ’s Fury; Cursor’s Fury; Podcasts- RadioLab; 99% Invisible; Nice White Parents
I slept fairly well last night, waking up around 4am and dozing until it was late enough to get up around 5:20am. I was packed up and on trail by 6:20am, though I had to deal with discovering that one of my food bags had been burrowed into for my peanut M&Ms by the local rodents. Thankfully, they only touched one baggie of M&Ms and one baggie of peanuts, so the damage to my food supply was minimal.
I made quick work of my big miles today, though my skin didn’t love it. My hipbones, outer hips, the top of one shoulder, and one underarm got chafed. The high was around 70 and the sun was relentless, but I didn’t wear my sunhat most of the day because it made me feel stifled and I spent a good 10 miles on the most boring forest path. About 6 miles from the end of my day, I stopped to switch into dry socks and to tape my feet where the skin was breaking down from the repetition.
I saw almost no one for the first half of the day, which made it somewhat eery. Then I saw 6 NOBO hikers who had no interest in chatting, 2 of whom refused to give me right of way on a narrow uphill climb. And then I started seeing day hikers, including two equestrians. When I finally got to my evening’s destination at 6pm, two groups were already set up, but there was space for me. The people here are escaping to nature with their friends/family and have no interest in chatting, so I quickly made dinner and then got in my tent.
Transcending Mountains 