July 31st
1mi before Little Table Mtn(1992.6)-I-15/Lima(2003.1)
10.5mi
Today was finally a TOWN DAY! It was quite a day and felt like two with all that happened. We were all looking forward to town, so we started hiking early at 6:20am. It was hazy from possibly a fire far off and the sunrise was nice, but a picture doesn’t do it justice. It was pretty much a 10mi road walk to I-15. It’s started off with a few miles along an old road along a fence.
Then an actual dirt road with good tread the rest of the way. Today is Day 100 for me and I hit 2,000mi, yay!
Bloodbath, Rampage, and Sweet As were very happy to be gettting their new shoes. The general rule is that most shoes last about 500mi. They have gone 1,075mi, 920mi, and 850mi respectively. If you remember correctly, Bloodbath and Rampage were supposed to get them 150mi ago in Yellowstone and there was a shipping mishap…not fun! Well…unfortunately, it happened again for Rampage and her shoes did not make it here to Lima. It is very disheartening when every step is in pain. Her shoes are quite thin on the soles and have so many holes that small rocks and pine needles are constantly getting in there.
We really don’t want to have to take a zero, so here is the plan that was concocted…tomorrow, Rampage and I will hike out at a relaxed pace with Cherry Picker. Bloodbath will wait for the shoes to come either tomorrow or probably the next day and then he will hike ~40mi/day to catch up to us by the time we get to Leadore in four more days. There is another hiker in town named AquaMan who is also speedy and Bloodbath is excited to stretch his legs and do the big miles he’s know for. Sweet As and Dain will probably hike out at a later time tomorrow and possibly camp with us tomorrow night or catch up to us the next day. In order for this to work, there have been some unique compromises. I will be giving my tent and sleeping bag to Bloodbath until he catches up and I will be sleeping with Rampage in their two person tent and shared quilt. Anyone who knows me knows that this is quite the sacrifice as I am not a “cuddler” and like my own space. It will probably only be a couple of nights, so it will hopefully be okay and Rampage and I are willing to do it so we don’t lose a day and can keep hiking. I think it will actually be fun to do our own thing for a bit. It will be interesting because Rampage and Bloodbath have not been separated for a day for the past 8 months…very interesting…
When we hit the highway, we waiting for the motel shuttle that picks up hikers. When it pulled up, we knew some southbounders were being dropped off, and out stepped some of my PCT 2011 classmates! It was Pyrite, Chinchilla, and Sparrow whom all I adore! I have loved meeting all the SOBOs and it’s been bittersweet as many are my friends, hikers I’ve communicated with online, or just fans of the blog. I just wish they were all northbounders as they are all so friendly and quality people who I’d love to be hiking with! When we got to town, there were over 20 hikers and most were lounging in the grass at the motel. It was so great to see such a big hiker trash crowd in one place on the CDT! It was overwhelming too. Many got back on trail as the day went on and a whole new crew arrived by night’s end. Quite the day! Bloodbath has been dying for a haircut and had a mohawk on the PCT, so he, Sweet As, and AquaMan all got mohawks and it was cute to see Bloodbath with the guys. He was the fastest to do the PCT in 2011, so he mainly hiked alone and has been with gals a lot on this hike. It’s good that he’ll get to hike with the guys and stretch his legs some this leg.
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| (Tall hikers!)Pyrite, Chinchilla, me, Sparrow, Bloodbath, Sweet As, Bloodbath, and AquaMan. |
When I got to town, I was super hungry and have been for the last week with this being a 9 day leg. I have been very proud of my lowered anxiety and stress compared to my PCT hike and that has allowed me to have hiker hunger for the first time. I usually am too stressed to eat, now I can’t seem to stop eating and it’s wonderful! I immediately got a sub sandwich and milkshake at the local sub shop and it was AMAZING! Then I had a burger and fries soon after that. I went back to the sub shop for a few hours and the owner, Rick was great and let me use his laptop and wifi in the shop. I got a ton done and he even let me keep the laptop overnight and gave me another huge and heavenly chocolate milkshake when the store closed. So great!
Then I did my resupply and I want to make sure and thank everyone who donated things to this one. So thank you to Katy, Chad, Mule, Edie, George, Yankee, Corinna, Frank, and Jay. My stepmom has labeled everything with permanent marker and it has been really comforting to see the names of friends, family members, and blog followers while I’m out on the trail. THANK YOU all of you!!!
Okay, it is now midnight, so I better get to sleep soon. It was a great day and I’m looking forward to the next leg.
