3 Highlights:
• Trail angel water after 20 km
• Clouds and shade—a rare gift
• Spotting a comet at night with Semper Dry and Hop
Daily Summary:
• Distance hiked: 52 km
• Starting point: km 3895
• Ending point: km 3947
• Weather conditions: Mixed
Reflections (Challenges, Insights, Musings):
Woke up in the middle of the night to pee—because of course. Then, instead of going back to sleep, I decided to turn my morning into a circus. Spent 10 minutes looking for my gaiters in the wrong places, only to find them exactly where they should’ve been. Not exactly a zen start.
The morning got worse when the freezing cold water had me filling bottles with numb fingers. To top it off, my pack strap decided to break. Let’s just say… there were some choice words. I ended up apologizing to Semper Dry and Hop for the little meltdown—gotta keep the trail vibes good, you know?
After lugging 5 liters of water for the first 20 km, we stumbled upon trail magic: fresh water in three big jars, just waiting for us. Even though we didn’t need it by then, we couldn’t resist. People are amazing.
Later, lunch turned into a personal food regret festival: jerky, nuts, dark chocolate, peanut butter—you name it. It wasn’t a crazy amount, but enough to make me feel like I’d eaten a bowling ball. I spent the next few hours hiking with a headache and nausea, convinced I might burst at any moment.
Then, just when I thought the day couldn’t get any weirder, the night sky gave us a gift: a comet. There we were, lying under the stars with our heads spinning from exhaustion, and out of nowhere, this bright streak lit up the sky. Honestly, it was surreal. Semper Dry, Hop, and I just stood there in silence for a moment, taking it all in.
We finally rolled into camp near midnight, with the lights of Grants twinkling in the distance. A shower, food, and coffee are so close, I can almost taste them.
Good night.
