I’m starting this day at mile 393. I’m wending it 13 miles in on the blue line to Anaconda. I hiked 26 miles today.
I got up early after surviving the night with most of my things wet or damp. I was not cold, just uncomfortable. I wanted to get an early start to try and find a good place to dry everything in the sun. I found the perfect spot after several hours. I had a flowery meadow to sit in and an old fallen dead tree to use as a drying rack.
After about 45 minutes Mango showed up and said it was the perfect drying spot. Soon everyone was drying things out.
Once my stuff was dry I got back on trail. I called Tony and chatted with him while I climbed over blowdowns.
The trail soon wandered through cattle grazing land and cross-crossed dirt roads. Then it entered forest with a lot of blowdowns. Most of them had been cleared but as I was carefully winding my way around one of them I hit my head on one I did not see. It knocked me down. I sat there holding my head and I started to cry. I felt so defeated.
I got up and continued on. Eventually in the hot sun I reached the junction with the Anaconda cut-off, a shortcut alternate route. The others were sitting under a tree. I sat with them and enjoyed the conversation.
They started saying things like they could do like they did on the PCT and wait 4 hours in the shade and continue later into the night. I decided I would rather just keep going and see what there was to see.
The cut-off followed a dirt road. It was pretty. There were meadows, each with their own color combination of wild flowers. Eventually the road followed a small creek that seemed to originate with a pond that had numerous cattle pooping in it.
There was a comment in the app that said to make sure to get water before you leave the forest. I interpreted it to mean that this was the last chance. I decided I would make my dinner here and start my breakfast cold soaking and then I would fill up 2 liters and the 700ml bottle I had and that would be good.
The road descended in the hot sun with light sprinkles falling now and then. I used my umbrella for shade. The road followed the creek. I could have gotten water for miles. It was only when you actually emerged from the forest that there was no more water.
I powered down due west into the hot sun. I tried not to drink. This cow shit water wasn’t going to be enough in this heat. The lower the sun got the hotter it seemed to get.
I past a junction and heard shouting and saw Wallaby. He said he wanted to wait for the others at the junction. I agreed to wait and we swatted mosquitoes in the shade for about an hour. There was a trail angel house 2.5 miles away. I finally said that I could have been there by now so I was going to go for it.
From about 7pm to 8pm I hiked the dirt road to the trail angel house. There was a yard and some hikers camped in it. There was a hose with cold water. I filled my two and a half liter container and drank half of it. I set up my tent while swatting mosquitoes and watching a thunderstorm brew over the mountains. I was grateful for a safe place to stay.
Only Wallaby made it to the trail angel house. The others must have found good shade to stop at. I have 10 miles of road walking to get to a MacDonald’s.
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