Day 51: Bears are out

It was cold enough over night to again require me to thaw out my frozen shoes in my sleeping bag before putting them on. The first few miles were mostly snow free and then bam, snow everywhere requiring me to route-find / break trail. I was exhausted early. Once out of the snow, I caught a second wind until stopping to break at 10 to dry out some of my stuff, especially my sleeping bag which had condensation on it from last night. 

The rest of the day felt like driving in town and then driving on the interstate. Slow in the snow, fast on actual trail. There was a lot of snow still on the ground, which got especially slick as it got slushy in the heat of the day. I probably fell dang near 20 times today from slipping on the wet snow. 

I slide down the slope and my trekking pole was stuck in the snow above. Sandman got it while I pulled myself up.

We saw 4 different sets of bear tracks today, so it’s official -- the bears are out of hibernation. 

The afternoon and evening miles were mostly snow free.

Beautiful, snow-free trail

Less than 2 miles from camp, there was a sketchy bit of trail that was iced over and steep. It wasn’t safe to cross without microspikes. Instead, we got creative and climbed around it but it was a focused few minutes to ensure nothing tragic happened. 

Miles: 30.2

Total Miles: 1,296