Day 2 Struggle Continues

August 3, 2024

Mile 16-39.6 (23.6 miles)

The alarm went off at 6 but we laid there and cuddled for a half hour. At some point in the night it had finally cooled off enough to allow skin to skin contact but I still slept naked and barely covered up with the quilt. Henry held me in his arms and stroked by back as the sky lightened outside.

We packed up pretty quickly for our standards, maxed out our water carrying capacity down at the river and began our climb around 8.

It honestly wasn't half bad, the heat wasn't terrible yet and there were plenty of switchbacks. Reached the top and Henry added boxers under his shorts because chafe. I was glad for the break and forced myself to eat a Gatorade protein bar. The rest of the day was hot. Like... mind meltingly hot.

We stopped for water at a fire station and found Mice! Who we'd met at Shaw's last year, it was so nice to see a friend out here. Had a nice lunch break in the shade of a copse of trees while forcing myself to drink a liter of electrolytes to replace everything I'd sweat out all morning.

Pushed on after lunch through a burn area. I used my umbrella and there was the slightest breeze but it was truly fucking terrible and I struggled. Stopped for some water and saw a big beautiful gopher snake slowly slithering through the grass.

My feet started to hurt, bad. Bad enough that I couldn't focus on my audiobook and had to shut it off. We made it down to Buffalo Creek where the bubble was camped. I felt completely destroyed and overheated and stripped down to lay in the creek, not caring in the slightest if anyone saw me naked. The water was so cold it made my feet throb within seconds but I blocked off the pain and let my body temperature fall, staying in as long as possible. I got in 3-4 times and then we moved to the sun and ate some snacks. I took 3 Aleves to get the through the remainder 4 uphill miles to get to our chosen campsite. To distract ourselves on the climb Henry and I talked about what size, material, and pockets our dream backpacks would have if we had them custom made. I messaged Mom and Gagoo to update them while we walked and snapped the Ten Titties and the four miles ended up being the easiest all day.

The sun had set, its incredible how easy it is to hike when you don't feel like you're a turkey being baked in a 400 degree oven. The trail was gradual and beautiful through pine trees. Had mac n cheese that tasted like bog water for dinner and took an edible before laying down and enjoying our beautiful campsite on the edge of a meadow. It feels good to be in bed by 9. It's a little chilly and that makes me v, v happy :-) Tomorrow is the first day we'll be over 10,000 feet.