Day 15- How Yoda Got Her Groove Back

Sunday, April 29, 2018

Forest Rd 94(96.4) to Side of a Mountain Official CDT Route(365) 20.7 miles Trip Total 276.6 miles 

Since I’m back on official cdt I have elevation profiles again. Yay! 

I feel a trillion times better than I did last night. I think I’ve been battling a cold since I left Doc Campbell’s and the strain in my body finally became too much yesterday. My energy levels were still pretty low today, but my cough is better. I don’t think I’ve ever sneezed so many times in one day. I also had to sacrifice a bandanna for a snot rag. I started the day off with a 8.6 mile walk on a gravel road. It wasn’t very exciting, but it was better than bushwhacking through thorny shrubs. After that I finally made it back to the official cdt. My animosity towards the Gila River alternate is already starting to fade. The beautiful scenery I encountered is much more appreciated now that I’m not tearing my legs to shreds with every step taken. 

Back in cow country 

After the gravel road I had real proper trail. I don’t think I have encountered trail this lovely and for so long this entire hike. Although I wasn’t feeling 100% my soul was soothed. I didn’t have to fight for every step or constantly check my route. Within half a mile I climbed above 9,000 feet. I had a wide open view and just knew that if I turned my phone on I’d have cell reception. I was correct, I even had full bars. Usually the first thing I do is post my blog, but I figured I should call my parents first. I didn’t want them to worry about my last few posts. I wanted to give them a heads up. It was so nice to talk to someone again. I haven’t had a real conversation since the cliff dwellings. The only downside to the cell reception was that I took another hour long break. I had just taken one half a mile before. Oh, well. Rejoining the civilized world was too much of a temptation to ignore. I checked my email, posted my blogs, did some banking, got a weather report, and half a dozen other things that people take for granted. How did we live before smart phones? I was hoping to hike 22 miles today, but I knew with my extended breaks early in the day and still not feeling great there was little chance of that happening. 

High elevation and line of sight= cell reception 

Now that I have left the river behind, water has once again become an issue. The next 50ish miles are going to be difficult. Once again I had to dry camp. On top of that most of my elevation gain came after I picked up 3.5L of water. I have about 14 miles to hike in the morning before I’ll have another good water source. After that I’m looking at about 26 dry miles. I’m definitely going to have to be smart about how I manage my water. 

Water source of the day

The water pictured above was not very appetizing. It looked like a place where a hippopotamus would love to live. I picked up 3 liters from there. I’m so glad to have a Sawyer Water filter. I’m always amazed how it can turn murky water into something drinkable. I don’t mind carrying the extra 3oz of weight to know that I can have good water. 

Before using the Sawyer Squeeze 

After 

I’m going to cut the rest of this post short. I’m pretty wiped out after a rough night and a tiring day. Let’s just say I enjoyed proper trail and being back in the high mountains. 

View of the desert below 

Giant cairn. They should use a few of these rocks to better mark the rest of the trail 

Flesh shredding bushes couldn’t harm me today. I could hike in my pants again

Lovely trail 

Wide open views

Home for the night. I had to hike down off trail a good way to find a place semi sheltered from the wind. It is going to be in the thirties tonight, with wind gusting to 28mph. At least I don’t have a fever anymore. 

"We may stumble and fall but shall rise again; it should be enough if we did not run away from the battle." 

- Mahatma Gandhi