April 26
Mileage 28.8
Mile 20 to mile 48.8

Today was like a week, cold rain and a fourteen mile climb and then cold pounding winds blowing clouds and I kicked ass. Slept terrible at kickoff last night, wind battering everything rain coming in the broken zipper of my tent. Why is it broken? I washed the dirt out of it. Don’t things last forever? I woke up at four a.m. and decided to hike, all the fresh new thru-hikers snoring in their smashed tents and I set out into the cold grey, my footprints the only ones in the mud. I was stiff and chilled but I had thermal running tights, a fleece jacket instead of down (thank god for that/have to update my gear list b/c I changed a few things) a hat and gloves and my rain jacket and I was FINE. Didn’t see a soul all day and then one of my new trail friends caught up to me right before mt. Laguna (why is it so easy to make friends on the trail? And FAST) and we cruised through the snow-crusted ponderosa island in the sky to the little store where I charged my phone. All our stuff was wet, we checked for room at the inn but there was none. Ate stale tacos at the restaurant and dried our stuff on the tables; we’d acquired two other hikers by now. I proposed hiking six more miles to a spigot in the woods on a windy hillside, and they said that sounded like a fine idea. Now we’re hunkered down, our tents like sails in the wind. Low of 32 tonight. I’m toasty but I want the desert back. Also- sore all over but I’m not injured! It’s an ibuprofen night for sure.

Forgot to wash my butt chafe. Oh well, too cozy to do it now.

The photos in my last post look shitty. There’s some trick to loading high quality photos via the app; until I remember what it is I’ll kindly direct you to my instagram

Also, THANK YOU: Scout and Frodo, Betty Wheeler, the organizers and volunteers of ADZPCTKO, Gossamer Gear for fixing my mariposa so it fits!

Spark and Instigate, I miss you. You have no idea. We would eat this trail alive.