Inferno

April 2, 2023 - Day 2

Mile 15.2- 37.5 (22.3 miles)

First time using my sun umbrella this morning and man I'm glad I brought it. I got it out before our first break, a nice flowing creek with some shade. There were a bunch of other hikers hanging out there, hiding from the heat. It seems like most of the people we talk to are PCT transplants, people who bailed on the PCT because of the high snow year and decided to hike the AZT instead.

After our lunch break the sun was fucking hot. We trudged uphill through the stifling heat until we came to our 2nd water source where we laid in the shade and ate and drank. After that it was golden hour and had cooled off considerably. It's becoming clear that this will be my absolute favorite time of day to hike. We hiked on in the pleasant air and I finally felt like I could enjoy my surroundings again instead of staring down at my feet trying not to think about how my brain was cooking.

Chilling in the shade

We caught a beautiful orange sunset over the mountains before enjoying a couple hours of night hiking in the cool temps. We're now cowboy camping under the stars and the huge, bright moon. We are in the perfect flat spot right beside the trail. I'm trying not to think about what kind of scary bugs and spiders might crawl on me tonight.

It feels good to have gone over 20 miles on our second day. My feet hurt but honestly I feel better than I did on the MST.

Wildlife sightings: 1 snake, 1 bat