Day 44: mile 585.8 to mile 608.9

Jun 4

5.29.18. 23.1 miles.

Man, today was a doozy. We knew it was going to be hot, so Butters & I started hiking at 5:30 to get a little bit of a head start on Hot Mess & LOL. The morning was pretty good, we took a break at 7 miles to wait for them to catch up (only waited a few minutes... they’re so fast).

After the break, the hellish elevation gain began. We would go up a mountain, come back down, and repeat. Basically 3 times until we got to the water. It was so hot, we were lucky there was some shade in parts. I underestimated how much water I’d need, and I was pretty thirsty. Thankfully, Butters gave me about half a liter and I got a few ounces from Dead Zone later on when we were almost at the water. I think because how dusty the trail was today I was more thirsty bc dust got in my mouth & throat.

Our lunch break at the water was really nice. I had a fantastic lunch: avocado toast and make-shift pizza on an English muffin. Thanks to Mom I made some different choices at the grocery store this time around!

We only had 6.8 miles in the afternoon, but they dragged on a bit. The scenery was beautiful though, lots of pine trees and boulders and pretty mountain views.

We’re camped at a pretty large BLM campground with a great spring and pit toilets. The next stretch is 42 miles between natural water sources, which is insane. We’re lucky there are 2 caches being maintained along the way, but I’m still carrying 6 L to start. We’re getting an early start again tomorrow to beat the heat.

We got mile 600 today, which is so crazy! Less than 100 miles to Kennedy Meadows!