Distance hiked today: 23.8 miles / 38.3 km.
The kitchen in the Donner Ski Ranch bunk house had a microwave... luxury. I warmed up water in it for my instant coffee, and ate my normal cold-soaked breakfast in a ziploc bag. Why do dishes when you can just eat out of a bag?
The bunk house was empty by 7am when I left, all the hikers hitting the trail early. I munched on a protein bar as I walked - I always make sure my snacks are accessible so I don't have to stop to eat.
The trail crossed a major twinned highway, passing underneath it through a water drainage tunnel. I took off my shoes to wade through, knee deep in spots and dark, and it absolutely froze my feet.
Most of the trail today was through a green tunnel, through trees and not much for views. I started listening to audiobooks to occupy my mind, as my feet instinctively take step after step without having to think about it much.
These days I'm hiking 13-14 hours per day, waking up at sunrise and often eating dinner at camp just after sunset. I don't often take breaks because my legs and feet don't get as tired anymore, just stopping to filter ¾ litres of water every 5 miles or so and then carrying on. I take 1-1.5 hrs for lunch at mid day, and otherwise it's one step after the other. All day long.
Today I had a tentsite in mind and expected to see a few other tents there. There have been quite a few bear sightings all around here in the past few days, and if there are other people at camp I figure it helps to scare them away.
Well I was wrong, and ended up camping alone. I banged my spoon on my pot for a while to make some noise, and played music on my phone to hopefully scare away any bears within earshot. The song that came on was the Pina Colada Song by Rupert Holmes which I played on repeat, hoping the bears didn't like pina coladas.
Total trail mileage: 1177.2 miles / 1894.1 km
