Distance hiked today: 25.5 miles / 41 km.
3 months on trail now, and I've taken a total of 8 Zero days where I didn't hike at all. At this point it's as much a mental game as a physical one, if not more so. Trail life does start to wear on you, even though physically I'm getting stronger. Constantly being on the move, sleeping on a noisy blow-up pad, sitting on the ground, carrying a backpack, blisters, sore muscles, hunger, the monotony of walking, heat, always being dirty, being at the mercy of the weather, carrying minimal gear with no room for extra comforts… the list goes on. You have to really want to be out here, and appreciate every day that it's a privilege to be here. And despite the discomforts, I'm still loving every day of it. Because ultimately it's a magical place, full of beauty even on the less picturesque days, and the simplicity of trail life is something I'll miss when it's done.
Today was another hot day in Northern California. We made great time again, starting off with a long downhill. By 1pm we'd done 18 miles, had a quick lunch, then headed another few miles to a water hole at a river where it was deep enough to swim. The water was cold but refreshing, great to rise off the sweat and dust, and wait out the heat.
Finishing off the day with a big uphill, we were a little limited on mileage because there were no good tenting sites for a while after this one. But it gave us another relaxing evening on trail!
I've been trying to eat through my food bag because I'm getting another whole resupply box tomorrow. Double lunch, double breakfast, and I've run out of chocolate. Looking forward to getting some fresh food and snacks tomorrow - my hiker hunger seemed to have lessened for a little while and I reduced my snacks, but it's definitely back and I'm hungry!
The ice for my insulin melted within a day of leaving Burney, so I've been filling my bottle with cold stream water but it's definitely not cold enough. I think insulin is more resilient than the label says, but I guess we'll find out. I'm missing the snow for that - it melted much slower than ice and was lighter than having a full bottle of water.
Total trail mileage: 1489.4 miles / 2396.4 km
