Day 85

(Originally written on Tuesday, July 28)

Today was yet another day that was heavy on the miles in an effort to get to Belden by tomorrow (Wednesday, July 29) night. So when the dust had settled--and it was a lot of dust on the trail today--I had hiked another 30-mile day. That makes three 30-mile days in the last four days. This is sort of what I had envisioned as being part of the post-High Sierra plan for me. I say sort of because I had imagined that I may not be as sore as I am. But I think my body is still adjusting. We shall see.

The first 16 miles today were fantastic. There was some uphill, but mostly just to get to the next downhill section. The trail was dropping way down to 2900' to cross the Middle Fork of the Feather River. This is the lowest (and hottest) I've been since very early on the trail. Since I had gotten on the trail by around 6, I knew I was well-positioned to put in some good miles early. So when I arrived at the river, it was exactly noon.

The weather was warm enough that I decided to go for a swim--both to clean myself up and to cool off. I ended up taking a 2.5 hour break because I was procrastinating on the afternoon portion of the hike. Whereas the morning was mostly downhill, the afternoon was ALL uphill. It went from under 3000' to over 5000' in about five miles or so.

I didn't feel like carrying much water so at every water source I was drinking 1-2 liters. I think I drank nearly 8-10 liters throughout the day because it was so hot. By the time I stopped for my last liter, my pants were absolutely soaked. I hadn't been that sweaty since the desert!

But when I got to the top of the climb, there was an unexpected surprise. Along the trail was a sign advertising a free place to stay with a local trail angel. Even better, it was precisely at the point on the trail where I was planning to camp! So a shower, cold drinks, hot lasagna, s'mores, and a soft bed later and I'm a happy man! Thanks Nancy and Terry!

Tomorrow it is 24 miles to Belden and hopefully another shower. All of a sudden, I'm getting WAY too clean to be a thru-hiker!