Day 62 : Pennsylvania Creek

27 miles today

1595 miles to go

I really like my tent. It's entrance is on the side so it's easy to get in or out. The design lets me choose which side of my tent is the side with my head. I put the gear that I want easy access to at night near my head and the stuff I don't need access to near my feet. I seem to have a problem judging which end is higher than the other. Once I'm lying down it's pretty obvious, but just looking at it, it's not. I slept all night with my feet in the air. The only thing keeping my head from going down a gopher hole was the bottom of the tent and my sleeping pad. What was I thinking? Not only were my feet higher that my head but side to side it wasn't level either. I had to work all night to keep my face from being plastered to the nylon screen door where the mosquitoes could gnaw on it. Where did that gopher hole come from? I certainly didn't see it when I setup my tent. Have I learned nothing in a thousand miles?

I've set myself a goal to be at Donner Summit on the day of July fifth. It's basically one hundred miles from here. Tomorrow is the second. That's four days to walk one hundred miles. Roughly twenty five miles per day. To make things more challenging I only have a single dinner left and no breakfasts. I'll reach Echo Lake two days from now and there is supposedly a store there where I can buy more food. I have about eight tortillas and almost one pound of peanut butter.

I am out hiking today by five thirty. Today is a ‘bread and butter’ day. I will need to be able to do a lot of days just like today. I walk consistently and without stopping to rest but once. The trail brings me through some of the most beautiful sections that I am frankly surprised. The section south of Ebbetts Pass has a section of trail that is like a road racing circuit down through numerous hairpin turns through a waterfall and down some more. The volcanic rocks are all kinds of pinks, purples and greens. The snow is still present but is decreasing noticeably by the day. I played leapfrog today with Diesel and Big Hunk. 

I reach my goal of Pennsylvania Creek at about the time I'd hoped, fourish. I am exhausted. I couldn't hike more today even if I wanted to, which I don't. I am having doubts about my ability to keep this up for another three months. I would have thought that I'd be stronger now, perhaps I am but it's still hard work. Tiring work. I think I might bring my micro filter to allow me to carry less water and drink at the streams I come to rather than having to wait every time I get water for the water to purify. Maybe that's what's bugging me, but right now I don't feel like hiking. Good thing I'm lying down, because I need some rest. For the last two days I've set my stop time at fourish. I haven't had any anxiety about campsites because I had plenty of time to find one and setup my tent.