Woke up this morning with little motivation to be on trail. Last night was the best night sleep for me this trip. Most likely caused by me getting no 4-5 hrs of sleep the last few nights (1 - from high winds, 2&3 from Mr. Clean snoring). Ate breakfast and slowly packed my things up. It was steady warm when I started walking for the day. The first 8 miles were not difficult and had some pretty cool views.
Around 12:30, the temperature really ramped up and I decided a lunch break was in order. I ended up taking a nap and working on catching up with blog entries (in the notes app... Still no cell service).
When I hit the trail after lunch, I have a touch over 1 liter to hike a distance of 8 miles to the next water source. It was still warm out, but the breeze helped to prevent the energy sucking effect that the sun can have.
I really had to conserve water. Normally I plan 1 liter per 5 miles. Having 1 liter for 8 made me nervous (also I started the day a little dehydrated which didn't help).
At the next water source I quickly gathered water and made good. All the while drinking a bunch of water. After this break I needed to pee rather consistently.
Walking the last 7 miles, I experienced a lot of emotions. First was the calm that comes with watching the sunset. Second was a little boredom from not being able to see much in the low light (remedied by listening to a couple episodes of the JRE podcast). Then there was pain... My feet had been through a lot today. Shock and adrenaline came when I saw a pair of eyes looking at me from the forest. It stared at me and blinked a bunch as I stated back at it trying to see what it was (my mind always wonders to the extreme... Mountain Lion). After this I looked back ever 5 seconds to see if it was following me.
Last was the joy/sense of accomplishment by walking over 23 miles (I could have easily stopped early with how many campsites this area is littered with).
Quickly setup camp and crawled into bed. The next challenge is a 41 mile water carry. This will be tomorrow and the day. 8-9 liters of water.
