Boy, was I sluggish starting on trail today. The strong wind of the morning was whipping up dust from the mountains, which made the sunrise epic against the hazy skyline. I had to wear my sunglasses before the sun was really out to protect against the dust getting in my eyes. 

Our toughest river crossing yet of the hike happened this morning. The heatwave melted a crazy amount of snow and the run off caused the river to be roaring early in the morning. I sent it quickly before I got scared, but another couple needed some help getting across. The first three of us formed a wall in the river to help the last hiker, who was struggling, get across. She about got swept under but we pulled her out. Nuts! Even more crazy though was the fact that the one of the guys, Dahn, actually hiked with Sandman for a bit on the Te Arroro in New Zealand. Crazy place to meet again. 

Last year, a historic windstorm ravaged the area by blowing down trees. There was a chainsaw crew out today, and we got to see them cut off a BIG (think like 6-7feet wide) tree off trail. It thundered into the brush making the loudest noise. I was thankful not to be near that. 

Then came tree blow down city. I bet there was 100+ big and small trees strewn across the trail requiring me to climb over, crawl under, or walk around the massive trunks. It was exhausting, and made more so by the 90°ish temperatures of the day. 

Mosquitos made an appearance towards the end of the day. One flew at my face, I blinked, and I caught the bug with my eyelids! I felt like Mr. Myagi from Karate Kid. 

The blow downs slowed me down considerably, plus I was still getting reacquainted with my trail legs, so I didn’t get to camp until almost 9pm. A long but wild day on trail. It’s good to be back!!

Miles: 36.6

Total Miles: 2,237