May 15 Mileage 24 Mile 454.5 to mile 478.6 I wake at 4:20 a.m. to the others rustling in the dark. "Is it time to hike?" I say. I feel like I haven't slept at all. Twenty minutes later Sheriff, Twinkle and I are walking down the dark road, trekking poles clacking. The moon has … Continue reading Day 21: finding my heat edge

May 14 Mileage: zero I almost forgot to blog today, I was so relaxed. Warm sun on the ground, the neighing of horses, lying on my cot in the shade in my flower-print loaner dress, letting the day slip by. Eating a little bit of everything until I no longer remember what I ate. Doing … Continue reading Day 20: zero in hiker heaven

May 13 Mileage 24 Mile 430.5 to mile 454.5 So tired Am zombie Death march, today, to Saufley's hiker heaven Much hot, so feet, so desert Wow Wow fell asleep late last night b/c 35 mile ENDORPHINS!!!! Woke at 4 a.m. b/c moon, felt good for exactly two hours, sun came up to vaporize morale … Continue reading Day 19: much desert, so zombie

May 12 Mileage 35 Mile 395 to mile 430.5 Today I did a thirty-five mile day. That is all. But also! There was poodle dog bush, a long roadwalk on a detour, eating skittles and caffeinated GU, talking about Game of Thrones as the sun set. Going from up high ponderosa forest down to baking … Continue reading Day 18: poodle dog bush day

May 10 Mileage 27.8 Mile 342 to mile 369.8 Today was the best of times, it was the worst of times. The trail is about never giving up. It's about crying alone on logs. It's about cycling through every possible emotion in a twelve hour period to end up exactly where you started- hungry, sleepy, … Continue reading Day 16: turning the wheel of life

May 9 Mileage 24.5 Mile 317.4 to mile 342 Here's what we do: bedrolls by eight, asleep by 9. Wake up at five a.m., the coldest hour right before dawn, everyone's watch alarms bleeping wildly in the dark. Water, handfuls of breakfast, walking before I'm really ready. The sun comes up and it's hot. I … Continue reading Day 15: the backs of dragons

May 8 Mileage 25 Mile 292.5 to mile 317.5 We wake before dawn in our campsite in the trees (it was around freezing during the night but I was toasty on my magic, magic neoair!) and eat a little breakfast, blearily pack our things away, set out before the sun has cleared the hills. The … Continue reading Day 14: the swimming hole of our dreams

May 7 Mileage 26.5 Mile 266 to mile 292.5 My god, what a difference fresh legs make. We wake at 5:45 to be in time for the 6:30 shuttle, various alarms going off in the dark hotel room. We shuffle around, eating oranges and microwaved leftovers, assembling our worldy possesions into dusty backpacks. We pile … Continue reading Day 13: a one ounce tent and three lighters

May 6 Mileage 0 Before bed I tell the others that I'm not hiking out in the morning; I want to take a zero. I'm tired, unimaginably so, in every part of my body. Ever since my epic dehydration I've felt awful, and I've been dragging myself down the trail. I haven't taken a zero … Continue reading Day 12: zero never felt so good

May 5 Mileage 17.5 Mile 248.5 to mile 266 I sleep so good in the cold and wake up to the pale dawn rising through the trees. I'm eating a leisurely breakfast of sunflower seeds and broken tortilla chips when TwinkleToes, Sherrif Woody and McButter walk up. "So, ah, you taking an on-trail zero?" says … Continue reading Day 11: Big Bearrrrr