When I woke up at 4, I felt really slow and sluggish, so it took me like 15 minutes just to really get started packing. Because I was already starving when I woke, I ate a “Chimpanzee” protein bar that I had found new in wrapper on the ground the previous night. It tasted like cherry-scented sawdust, but it did help. Getting packed, collecting water, and getting ready to hike took me until around quarter to 6. I didn’t even need a headlamp to see for the last quarter hour of the process. I could see the sun within a half-hour of hiking out.
After a long descent, I reached the Cottonwood Lake marsh/meadow. There was a huge herd of elk out there, and I saw several more elk throughout the morning.
The day was clear and warm, but not hot. After a single long morning climb, the trail was gentle rollers all day, nothing too strenuous. I still felt tired and slow all morning, on top of which my bowels felt out of sorts, though I only let that slow me minimally.
I saw a grouse with some chicks before my second morning break. I drank some extra caffeine with that break and at lunch that helped me feel like I could get the miles I felt like I missed out on while being slow in the morning.
Shortly after lunch, I came to the last good water source for the next twenty miles, a spring piped into a trough with a fence going through it that also crossed the trail. I took another break to lie down while collecting 5+ liters of water. My pack weighed a ton coming out of there, but the trail rarely climbed until right before I stopped for dinner, and even then it was gentle switchbacks.
I passed four people total on the section, though I know there are plenty more around in either direction. Three old ladies struggling up a hill in the early afternoon, and a fellow sobo who passed me while I was packing up after dinner and whom I passed a mile thereafter while he was taking a break. We exchanged light pleasantries, but I didn’t get a name. If he caught up to me, he’s faster than me, and I knew I would not have a chance after taking the entire weekend off at the end of the month. So why bother with names yet?
Anyway, I stopped just after 7 at the top of another small hill, saving the only steep climb in the entire stretch for the following morning. I was ready to sleep early in the afternoon, had a couple of brief dizzy spells later in the afternoon, and a light headache by the time I stopped. I hoped a good night’s sleep would put it all right.
Trail miles: 22.1
Distance to I-90: 49.1 miles
