May 9
Mileage: 11
708 miles hiked

It rains all night and when I wake I’m bleeding all over myself. Hey, at least I’ve got pads this time! We pack up, pack away our sleeping bags damp from condensation and the wet tent, set out on the good forest service road through the ponderosa forest. The last of the clouds clear as we hike, and the sun comes out. The storm is over!! Before we know it we’ve covered the 11 miles to Teddy’s cabin, a forest service cabin that’s nicely maintained, and it’s time for lunch. I’m feeling weak from the bloods so after gathering water from the seep which is, according to Buck-30’s three-year-old entry in the cabin register, “500 steps down the trail” (and I count, and he’s exactly right),  I lay down on my sleeping pad in the shade and do nothing. Right away after the cabin we’ll be descending into Saddle Canyon, aka ultimate plunge pool challenge, and the next seven miles have taken previous haydukers nearly an entire day. There might be a spot to dry camp 1.5 miles from here in the canyon, on a spit of land where everything is known to go horribly awry. Or… we could stay at this nice cabin where there’s water and rest for the rest of the day reading old logbook entries about rare butterflies and watching the bands of shade move across the dried clumps of buffalo dung and start Saddle Canyon first thing in the morning. Instead of camping halfway through it. So that is what we decide to do.

Also find me on instagram