Day 73 – Back to action!

The 6am alarm came early. Preparations began to ensure I was on the 7am bus back to the trail. I had breakfast, bandaged my ankle and prepared my bag to ride.

Back in action

I started hiking at 7:15am, finally back on the trail! I started walking slowly. Carefully. Making sure everything felt right. The speed was slow for the first couple of kilometers as I regained my speed and confidence. My right foot and ankle feel fine, but I felt like I had lead in my feet and in my backpack. Some rust was certainly showing after being off the road for a week.

Slowly but surely, I regained my speed and momentum. Aided by the soft terrain, I made my way toward the Elk Wallow Wayside. I reached there around 10:30 am and had a snack.

Meeting

Less than 15 minutes later my old friends Blueberry Turtle and Big Stick showed up! That’s when the rain starts. Up until that point it had been wet, foggy and overcast. But it hadn’t rained. Content to wait out the rain, I stood by the roadside for several hours.

Finally, around 1 p.m. there was a gap in the rain and we took advantage of it. We got going again, but it wasn’t long before I felt pain in my left heel. I took off my shoe and sock and discovered that I had a large open sore the size of a dime on my left heel and decided I needed to bandage it. After bandaging it, the burning sensation still persisted, but the sharp pain had subsided. I knew there was no way the bandage would stay there under the humidity and the way my shoe rubbed against it, but it was something. At that moment I realized I had left my trekking poles on the trail and I backed away embarrassed to grab them.

I headed out once again, with less than 6 miles to go to the next shelter, hoping to make it before the afternoon rains. Walking with Big Stick, Blueberry Turtle and Tahoe, we set off at a fast pace. Luckily, the rain stopped and the sun even showed up for a bit! Which was nice, however with the humidity and direct sunlight it certainly feels quite warm.

The afternoon walk went by quickly and wasn’t too strenuous. Since it was a shorter day, we arrived at the cabin before 4 pm. Many familiar faces at the cabin and numerous section hikers. So the house was full. Since rain was forecast for the afternoon and evening, we decided to sleep in the shelter. With all the spaces on the ground floor occupied, I took one of the spots on the upper level. Which was a little tight, so I hope I don’t roll over in my sleep and fall 5 feet onto the people below me… For your sake.

The rest of the night consisted of just hanging out and eating dinner. We even had a ridge runner join us, Mosey, which was fun as we pestered her with questions for a while. The last few times I slept in a shelter I didn’t sleep well, so I hope tonight is different.

Statistics for day 73:

14.9 miles

3,127′ ascent, 2,963′ descent

Open Arms Hostel a Gravel Spring Hut

19 DSLC…

Stove use times: 14

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