Mile: 115 to 127
Climate: warm and sunny
Mood: chipper
Mantra: we’re doing it!
12 miles with a full pack? No problem. Conference call to negotiate a lower production price? Easy. Keep high spirits while trekking up 3k feet in the high sun? Yeah, that too.
Little Lizzy can do it all! We woke up to a chilly morning and performed our standard pack up procedure which has been getting shorter and shorter. The rest of the group was a little surprised that we get up and out so quickly, but we sacrifice hot coffee and oatmeal for cold fig bars and pop tarts. We were the first to head out into the chilly morning air which quite quickly warmed up. We took our time - in the morning, snapping pictures and taking some longer breaks, and it took us a good while to make it the 4 miles to our water source.
After filling up on the clear but stagnant water, the sun was up and in full effect. We trudged on slowly and rested in what little shade we could find along the way. Liz had a conference call in the afternoon, so we kept a keen eye on the cell service as we trekked upwards and had to backtrack a bit to make sure we found a primo spot for the call. Liz talked business as I read and dug into our snack bag to outfit us for a few more miles.
Our goal was “Mike’s Place”, with the promise of shade and water at mile 127. Somewhere along the way we stopped, startled, with a hissing/rattling noise emanating from a bush in the shade ahead. We stopped and backed up for a few minutes before passing by giving a wide berth. We think it was a rattler, but couldn't tell for sure. We certainly appreciated the heads up!
We kept leap frogging with a couple of women from Sweden and a guy from Chicago. It seems like we all jumped from shade area to shade area, taking a couple minutes to cool down before heading out into the brutal sun. Toward the end of the day we pushed probably a little bit harder than we should have in order to reach our destination, which did not disappoint with veggie burgers, wood fired pizzas and a cooler full of beer. Just to help set the stage, this is in the middle of nowhere, and they have to bribe the UPS dude to deliver to them so far out in the country.
We refueled in the shade as familiar faces continually trickled in. We saw Chz-it and the sunshine turtle who had spent most of the day here, but they headed out shortly after we arrived to get a few more miles in before the sun went down.
Liz is resting up, trying to sleep off a little headache and some exhaustion from the day. We’re planning to wake up early and try to beat the sun for another 13ish mile day tomorrow. There is no water for about 25 miles so we will be carrying a lot of weight in the morning.
Aside from a little heel pain on my end, we are healthy and in good spirits. The crew tonight was a great reminder of why we are out here. We’re really enjoying meeting all of the different folks out here along with the natural beauty of the state.
[Snickers! A 62 year old thru hiker who is simply walking back and forth this year to get ready for his 90 day attempt next year, the group at Mike's, Clint in the sun, Liz and Animal style, tent at Mike's, Liz doing her thing in the tent]
