3 Highlights:
• Water caches that kept spirits high
• A long, relaxing lunch break with trail friends
• Realizing just how close we were to the finish
Daily Summary:
• Distance hiked: 43 km
• Starting point: km 4625
• Ending point: km 4668
• Weather conditions: Hot, windy, and partly cloudy
Reflections:
Strong winds kept me up for most of the night, so I wasn’t exactly rested when I hit the trail. The first water cache 7 km in lifted my spirits. Later, we reached another cache with root beer and other supplies—a small luxury that felt monumental. We lingered, enjoying the moment and letting ourselves relax.
I spent much of the day on a road walk, grateful for the flat terrain but battling mental fatigue. While 70 saw wildlife (an elk, apparently), I missed out, too focused on pushing forward. Near the last water source, a dead skunk in the trough forced me to be sparse with my existing water.
As the sun set, we kept on, the landscape changing to more open desert with scattered cacti. With just a few days left, I felt a mix of excitement and apprehension. How does one transition from this life back to the “real” world? For now, I’ll just focus on each star in the sky and try to sleep.
