To Lima Day 3: milder hills so the weather had to make up for it

I’m starting at mile 776.7. I’m ending at about mile 803. About 27 miles. 

I could have done 30 easily but the weather turned to high winds, rain and thunder and lightning at 6 pm. The third thunderstorm I had endured. Miles of barren exposed road stretched out before me. The comments about my goal location said it was grassy and windy. I may have had to go all night before finding trees for shelter. I just didn’t know because I couldn’t see where the trail was going. I had passed up some nice trees already and as the weather suddenly degraded and I crested the hill, there were trees on the other side of the fence. I climbed under the fence and found good shelter. I got my tarp up just in time for the rain. 

The rest of the day was really nice. The trail had turned kind with reasonable hills and switchbacks. There was open sagebrush interspersed with shaded little forests. There were flowing streams and lakes. The views were grand with wide open vistas and craggy and rounded mountains. I even recognized a view from Sie So’s videos and got a similar picture of my own. 

It felt good to hike like a normal person. The only bad part of the day were the storms. The first one struck when I reached a ridge and the top of a climb. I figured the ridge was short and on the other side I would be about as tall as the bushes on the sides of the trail so I didn’t worry too much. A guy I met at the last water source said I was braver than him. He had wrapped himself in his tyvek ground sheet and took a nap to wait it out. 

The second storm hit as I was walking a huge long expanse of open sage scrub. It was so windy I could barely stand up. 

The third hit when I had 3 miles left to hit my first 30 mile day. My biggest fear is to not be able to keep my shelter up in the wind and rain. So much PTSD from the PCT. 

I did a lot of thinking today. I have to take care of myself. Prioritize resting if I’m tired, seeking the sheltered locations to camp that will make me feel safe, maybe getting a hotel room in the next town so obnoxious thru hikers don’t ruin my sleep. I’m not a thru hiker. I don’t feel like one. I’m not planning to go the whole way. I’m not young. I’m slower than everyone. I’m alone and lonely. I’m just me by myself with nobody to help me. I have to take care of myself and let all the thru hikers go.