Date: June 7, 2017
Miles: 750.9 – 760.5
I cowboy camped last night and when I woke up, my quilt was completely frosted over. I was toasty warm though, and it felt pretty awesome to think that I slept outside at 11,000 feet.
We all packed up and headed back to the trail, working our way down mounds of snow, crossing into Sequoia National Park and passing through the Siberian Outpost to Rock Creek. We didn’t make much mileage, but it was tiring nonetheless. Not only is it physically draining to walk through snow all day, but it can be mentally tough for a hiker who is used to making 20-30 miles a day to suddenly be held to 10-15 miles. They’re like greyhounds being held at the race gate.
I learned a new skill today…boot skiing. I’m pretty awful at it. Most of the time I end up on my ass. I’m sure I’m going to get more practice than I can handle out here.
We reached camp early in the day, but we didn’t want to go on because of the huge climb out of the creek with no campsites located within a reasonable distance. So I took some extra time to sit alone by the creek soaking up sun and thinking about home. I’ve been feeling lonely and homesick since Tim left and have had the thought that I could go home and still feel like I’ve accomplished something without finishing the trail. I read some of my Pacific Crest Trials book to try to get a different perspective, and reviewed my list of reasons for doing this and that helped relieve my trail blues a little. I went to bed feeling more optimistic and decided that I will give the trail one more week and see how I feel then.
