Miles: 13
Total miles: 23
Last night was colder than I had expected. I wore almost every piece of clothing that I had--which was not much. I tossed and turned most of the night, but got some ok sleep from 4:30 to 7. I did not want to get up and go, so I had a later start than I wanted.
At about noon, 5 miles into my day, I was passed by a couple I had meet a few days ago in Tuolumne--who had not been very friendly. Today, seeing that I was a PCT hiker (and not recognizing me) they were much friendlier. The woman was Raindancer and the guy was Chimp. We commiserated about the snowy passes, they commented on my laundry (I was shirtless, having just washed my two shirts in the creek), and they went on their way. They are incredibly fast hikers.
A couple hours later a British guy by the name of Stampede passed me, and a couple hours later I caught up to him. We kept crisscrossing each other, as the trail was fully covered in snow, and we both made a few blunders that led us off trail. Around 4pm a storm started rolling in, and I still had about 6 miles until my destination. Any even portion of the trail I tried to (cautiously) fly through, but these inclines and elevation changes kill me. Every day I have gone up 2000ft and down 2000ft.
I decided to stick w Stampede and he decided to take a short cut down a mountain to cut off a mile of the trail. He seemed nice and knowledgable enough, and I didn't want to be caught in a storm by myself, so I followed him. He stayed with me until we got to my camp for the night, and we had a very pleasant conversation about our lives, our favorite foods, etc. He told me that he is meeting up w his wife at a cabin about 27 miles up the trail, and said that they were hoping to invite some other hikers. He said they have it until Sunday, so if I get there before then, I am welcome to join them. Oh, that sounds so nice! I'm shooting for 15 miles tomorrow, but it would be awesome if I could do 20, and then make it in time to join them. We'll see.
I already feel every ounce of this pack, and every muscle in my back and legs. By the time I make camp, I'm so tired I'm not even hungry. I was at a site today where some other hikers made a crude campfire ring, so I made a fire and enjoyed the amazingness for a few hours. I was actually able to cook some food tonight using the fire (my alcohol stove is essentially useless at this elevation :/), and forced myself to eat the whole thing. While by the fire, I saw my first animal of the hike--a deer who didn't seem at all bothered by me. It was nice to have a little company :)
I was ready for bed by 8, so I put all my clothes on, and am hunkered down for the night.
