October 22

Distance: 18.1 miles | Ascent: 4010′ | Descent: 2370′

Mile marker: 2157.6

Lunch: J – tomato pasta (B), A – beef stew (A)

Dinner: J – curry couscous (B-), A – couscous (B+)

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After our big and foolish day – or is it days? – we woke up groggy and not feeling superb. We took it reasonably slow and hit the trail just before 8:30. We knew we had a climb first thing in the morning. It wasn’t the steepest climb we’ve experienced, but boy howdy, it felt like we were walking through pudding. It was an absolute slog. We stopped a few times just to sit on the ground and think about the consequences of our actions.

The craziest thing happened, though. As we climbed, the flora dramatically changed. We found ourselves in oak forests high above the desert below. It was lush and green under the trees. It was shady – in a good way! Unfortunately, these forests are thinned into strips, each separated by burn zones, which devastated the forest. In the burn zones, it was back to scrub and without any shade for our weary souls. Due to the extreme and dry conditions, it will be a long time until these burn zones regrow into the lush oak forests that we had, that is, if they can regrow in the same way, what with the changing climate and all that.

When we made it to the top, a parade of retirees passed us going downhill. They, along with most others we meet on trail, pelted us with questions: Where are you from? Where did you start? When did you start? How far are you going? Did you have to quit your jobs? How many miles do you walk a day? We each took a different half of the line to answer as many as we could. It’s interesting that when responding to Where did you start?, the most common follow-up question is, Are you Canadian?

Water is scarce, and we no longer get to choose which water sources we collect from. This afternoon, our only option was a rain collection cistern, with ample reports of dead rodents in the bottom. The cistern was dark, so we didn’t check – probably for the best anyway. We filtered the water as usual, then added a chemical purification step (Aquatabs) for extra safety. We waited 30 minutes for the chemicals to do their purification, then added Crystal Light to our bottles to mask the odd tastes.

Towards the end of the day, we passed a NOBO 500-mile marker. To us, that means we now have less than 500 miles left. That’s less than half of that song! Weary and tired and feeling not great from our adventure the other day, we felt this was a good sign. It’s just the length of Oregon left. And, Oregon was easy! Therefore, this will be easy, right?

We got to an actual campground with picnic tables and a pit toilet – luxury. We pitched our tent at the spot closest to the trail and fell fast asleep after a quick dinner. Apparently, just a few minutes later, our comrades from the 24-hour challenge trudged into the same campground. We would swap stories and recap the adventure in the morning.