August 5
Mileage: 33
1724 miles hikes

I have some wild dream about the world ending and meteors falling from the atmosphere, wake up to the moon, and when I wake again it’s morning. Today we’re in the great basin! Flat jeep roads through sagebrush forever! I should do some massive miles today, right? But my stomach has been bothering me the last few days, and I don’t feel awesome. I’ll get as far as I get, I guess.

The day goes like this: I’m walking on a jeep road listening to my audiobook while the sky does wild things. Overcast, wind, hot sun, wind, wild clouds, now it starts to sprinkle, the clouds blow over and then the hot sun comes out again. I’m listening to The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters, and it’s perfect. So completely different from where I am at the moment that it lifts me off of the trail, out of my head. I take a couple of breaks at water sources- springs trampled by cows, but the water is good. Clear and cold. Tasting faintly of earth. I eat but my appetite is not too good. My stomach sort of hurts all day. Maybe this will pass? Whatever it is.

Right when I get to camp the wind picks up hard and rain pounds down. We wrestle with our shelter but then just give up and stand watching the storm, waiting for it to pass. It finally does right at dark, leaving a blustery warm sagebrush desert, coyotes yipping on the distant ridge. I set up my tarp and lay inside, enjoying the balmy air. I’ve missed camping in arid places like this. The desert is my favorite!

Photos on instagram