22 miles today.
My knee was just awful for the first 6 miles. I was hobbling along the trail. Thoughts even crossed my mind about having to be picked up early because I wasn't going to make the 22 miles we planned today.
I finally sat down and just stretched it for a good 10 minutes. Once I started hiking again my knee felt great! Every once in a while the pain would creep back in, so I'd stop, stretch, then keep walking.
Today was a hot one. The 3000ft climb up to Mt. Laguna is mostly desert and very exposed. I drank way more water than I usually do. About 6 liters.
We saw our first rattlesnake today. The trail was a bit narrow and overgrown with bushes and I was hiking fast. I came around a small bend and heard the rattle. Out of the corner of my eye I see the brown snake about a foot from my left leg and I immediately jump forward out of the way.
This was Brendan and Prudence's first time seeing a rattlesnake. They actually had to climb around below the trail to get around because the snake wouldn't move.
We saw a number of south bound section hikers and passed a couple north bound thru-hikers as well. We heard about an 8 year old girl who is hiking with her mom. They are a day or two ahead of us.
The wind has really picked up and heavy rain is in the forecast for tonight. Should be an interesting night.
Howdy.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad the rain held off until the evening for you guys and you made good progress. Hope you guys stayed dry last night. I have some Gear Aid Seam Sure sealer I could get to you in a hurry if you need it while you are still close. Let me know.
Also, what is the plan for the trailrunners for rain? Suck it up?
Yeah basically suck it up. Same for with wet stream crossing and hiking in snow. Trail runners will get wet, but with all of the mesh, they dry quickly.
DeleteI am following you along the way. Fucking A Dan!
ReplyDeleteright on!
DeleteHey Dan Wishing you the best on your hike. The first few days can be brutal. I would love to find out how your tent is doing in all the rain, especially with the mesh floor? Have fun.
ReplyDeleteYou'll see how it held up in my next post. Also, ZPacks recommends putting your groundsheet on the inside of the tent, meaning on top of the mesh floor. This makes the ground sheet create a lip where the mesh rises and is sewn into the tarp, so water will run under the ground sheet.
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