20.9 miles
275.6 AZT mile marker
It got cold last night, low 20s probably. It was also humid and we were in a valley that trapped the cold air and moisture, so that made it feel colder. I was warm enough in my bag without my insulating layers, but I still couldn’t sleep most of the night; probably because I slept well last night. Can’t have 2 in a row.
Breaks and I timed our packing so we were ready at the same time. I threw my puffy in my pack at the last minute and we took off. There was first a slight uphill which was nice to get us moving and warm. The trail wound through more pine forest. We lost it a couple times early today; once in a recent logging area with the trail obliterated and no flagging, and another time when we must have walked too far down a dirt road past a trail turnoff. We used our GPS to get back on track both times.
A few miles in, Breaks ducked off trail to go down to Mormon Lake to resupply. She thought it would only take an hour round trip, but we decided to meet further down the trail since I didn’t want to wait with it still being cold and there no much chance of drying my frozen tent with the sun still low.
I got water at a spring which was iced over. It took some effort and hitting the ice with a big stick to get it to crack. There was about ¾ inches of ice on the water which was surprising. I wasn’t expecting so much. I grabbed some ice water and continued down the trail.
The trail followed a couple old rail lines like yesterday, though they were not always as apparent. I saw some mule deer running away a couple different times. There was a lot of water around the trail in cow ponds and swamps, but I had enough nice spring water to skip it.
The trail was mostly just forest, and I booked it through and go to the cow pond Breaks and I had agreed to meet at. Right when I got there, she messaged me that she ran behind with her resupply and was 9 miles behind me. She wouldn’t be able to make it to where we had planned to camp for the night. She encouraged me to continue on since she was so behind.
It was still early afternoon, so after a long, relaxing and filling lunch by a cow pond, I continued on. I had plenty of time to finish my day, and took it easy, getting to the next cow pond at 4:30. The pond had reasonable clear looking water despite the ring of cow patties surrounding it and hoof marks in it. I wasn’t going to look too hard for cow patties in it. That’s what my filter is for.
There was a great campsite next to the pond in the trees with a tent wind break, plenty of flat spots, and a fire ring. There was even a bunch of nearby downed trees. Since I was early, I gathered some firewood and set a fire well before sunset to consume my supply and bask in the ambiance. This was my first fire of the trip since I don’t want to start a fire away from water and it takes effort at the end of a long day of backpacking. I really enjoyed the fire, especially since I’m solo tonight. I’m stuffed from lunch and dinner which is rare for me. I even have more lunch food I should have eaten and am behind on.
Tonight is not nearly as cold as the last 2 so far, and it’s not supposed to be as bad. I saw a bunch of glowing eyes at the pond right before I went to bed. No idea what they belong to and I didn’t hear any noises. Probably fine.
