Monday, March 20, 2023
Miles: 33.8
Elevation gain/loss: 6285′ gain, 6011′ loss (corrected)
I was awake at 5am, and hiking by 5:30am in the dark, after cowboy camping last night. Again, it was pretty chilly last night but at least the wind died down partway through the night. As I drifted off to sleep, I heard a pack of coyotes starting up their evening howl.
The morning had me wandering alongside the ride for the first 5-6 miles along more PCT-style trails; it was a very recently completed section so the terrain was smoother. Very early in my day I saw a Coati run past me; it was incredibly cute and much larger than I’d expected! Then the trail dumped me out by a full-on creek and I had a long 5+ mile ATV/dirt road walk with a bunch of steep 30%+ grade climbs; there were lots of cows along the road too, and I kept startling them. Thankfully, they ran away from me rather than towards me; I started preemptively talking to them as I walked along and that seemed to help. Then the trail took me into the Mt Wrightson wilderness and the trail kept giving me 20%+ grade climbs up towards a saddle where we finally got some downhill miles. I passed by Muscles and another AZT thru-hiker on the downhill, and we leapfrogged for a few miles.
This section had frequent water, and I was never carrying more than 1.5L. I had a treat going past Kentucky Camp where I was treated to potable water and a privy. At the Camp, the trail moved to dirt roads again, and I had a long 9-mile walk along its rocky and steep path. The AZT was teaching me to hate its ‘road walks,’ though I was very grateful for some cell service so I was able to chat with Toby during my long road walk. The day’s temperatures were higher than the day before, hitting the high 60s before dropping for the night.
I finally stopped at 7pm, as the daylight started to give way to full dark. I picked the only flat spot I could find, though in retrospect, I should have pushed another 0.5 mile further, to be camped by the next water source, around a cattle trough, because there were a few trees and it was less exposed to the wind. I didn’t know that there was a wind advisory for the evening. I set up my tent, hoping for a warmer and more solid night of sleep. The wind was around 10-15 MPH when I went to sleep at 8pm, but it started to increase as the night went on. I woke up at 10pm with 20-25 MPH winds and considered packing everything up and relocating, but I was too tired and went back to sleep, hoping things would get better. Starting around midnight, I was awaken by the 30-40 MPH wind every 20-30 minutes. I got out of my tent twice to reset the stakes, and I slept pushing my back against one side of the tent and my legs against the other, trying to support its structure. It was an exhausting night, without much sleep to be had. I regretted my camping spot many, many times.
Transcending Mountains 