5.28.18. 19.3 miles.

This morning did not start out well. I again had the runs but also threw up and couldn’t go back to sleep after, and this was at 4 am. Everything was uncomfortable and I couldn’t lay on my side or stomach. When the alarm went off at 6:30 I still felt like I needed to throw up again. I debated for a while leaving later in the day to let my stomach rest, or find a trail angel to stay one more night with because I really felt terrible. I really didn’t want to arrange something though and I really didn’t want to leave my group, and I started feeling slightly better once I drank some sprite so I got dressed for the trail and packed my pack.

It was sad leaving the fam again, but not as hard as the first time since I knew I could do it. My stomach still didn’t feel 100% as I started walking, and my pack was so heavy with food and over 4 L of water and it was super hot and exposed and we had a huge climb out of the pass. UGH. Everybody was super sluggish today though so I definitely wasn’t alone. I was finally feeling better by our lunchtime, only 7 miles into the day. After the first big climb the trail wasn’t too difficult, it just felt so long and like we never stopped hiking. Our pace was slower than usual too, even though we felt like we were walking our normal pace. Hot Mess was so far ahead of me, Butters, and LOL.

We finally got to our first water source for the day at around 5:30ish and loaded up on water for the next 19 miles. So many people were there, we had to wait in line to fill our water containers. We knew we needed to push on further, and there was a campsite 2.5 miles ahead, so we decided to meet there. I was happy I was walking alone in the evening bc I rounded a corner and BAM! Mountains! And with beautiful golden hour lighting! I can’t believe I hiked the 2.5 miles in under 50 minutes, even with stopping and taking pics on my camera! The scenery was just so amazing and got me out of my sluggish funk. It definitely feels like we’re entering the Sierra, which is so exciting!

I got to just before camp to see Butters waiting for me before the turn-off in case I missed it (so nice) and set up camp and socialized and started discussing our walker pass plans. It was still fairly warm so I ate outside of my tent for a change! And I got to photograph sunset on the mountains. I’m happy we got a scenery change in the evening, otherwise I would have felt blah all day.