I have not been setting an alarm to wake me up for quite some time now. In the group-setting with other hikers, and mostly cowboy-camping the last stretch, there’s usually lots of sounds and noises which will wake one of us up early. And then the rest quickly follows like dominoes.
I felt like pitching my tent last night however, and apparently was deeply asleep, because I did not hear the others pack up and leave. I woke at 0720 to find the campsite completely abandoned. Ah well, guess it would be late start today. Leisurely I took my time in breaking up camp and started hiking a little before nine.
Hiking out with my heavy pack was rough today. It didn’t take long for a strain in my back started to annoy me, and I found myself breaking often to find some relieve from the pain and snack or drink water. The terrain wasn’t hard, but my body was just not cooperating.
Or was my mind not cooperating, pushing my aching body when it’s really telling me to take it slow…?
Around lunch-time, I’d only done 8 miles.. Nope, I guess today wouldn’t be a very big day…
I was bummed out it’s still terribly smoky in the area. There were no views to enjoy, and so I turned to music and podcasts. With a significantly better cell-coverage today I was able to listen to music of choice, instead of being dependent on my off-line playlists, so that was nice. During the second half of the afternoon I encountered a trail-register, through which I learned that with the exception of Double-D, Arms & Gourmet, nobody from the Ashland-group had passed this point yet. This made me even less eager to hike big miles today, knowing it was the others that would probably catch me. I checked my maps and decided I would try to make it another 8 miles out, putting me on a total of 21 for the day. I got a text from Peach-man stating that they were trying to hitch out and aimed to get 11 miles in today. If they’d would manage this, they would not be that far behind…
The last 3 hours of the day were a drag. I didn’t see any North-Bounders, so was hiking the entire 21 miles by myself. Occasionally I don’t mind hiking alone, but since I had the nagging strain in my back and felt lethargic, some company would have been nice. Lost in conversation the miles tend to go by faster. Instead I just kept taking lots of breaks and eating lots of snacks, trying to reduce my heavy pack-weight somewhat.
I’m only a couple of miles away from the Hyatt Lake Resort, which has a restaurant and a small shop. Tomorrow I will hike over there and probably indulge in a second break-fast. Maybe I’ll even get some ice-cream. The time spend there will close the gap between me and my buddies. I arrived at the campsite near a running reservoir outlet, which makes for some nice white-noise for the night. I’m ready for another good nights sleep. Tired today. Zzzz….
I’ll come based on facts like she’ll be there
Making self-control leave me
And she’ll stand this out in bricks to the rioters
I can’t believe you’re twenty six
Without having a few in my fist
‘Cause you’ve got a mind that is so hell bent on
Fixing me up before I get my coat off
You with those hands that are so hell bent on
Making a mess to suggest you’d think something
26 – Catfish and the Bottlemen
