Day 212 (HDT 28)

Day 212 (HDT 28): 24 miles

It felt like the first non-freezing morning in a while. And it was the first morning without my shoes being frozen solid in a while.

I was angrily listening to the buckeye game with one bar of service for a while. When I got around Kane Ranch there was 2 bars of service, so I ended up taking a break for over an hour and watching the 4th quarter. I was nervous and upset for a while, but really the game couldn’t have ended any better. Cade Stover is baby Gronk. Marvin Harrison jr. is unstoppable. And JT Tuomaloau is a beast that finally had his coming out party.

Riding high after that game, I kept moving. I don’t know what I initially did to it, but my left knee has been hurting lately. It was pretty bad yesterday and got worse today again as the day went on. Tomorrow is going to be a fun 5,000 foot descent into the Grand Canyon.

There were a number of nice motorists passing by on the road again today. That is a real benefit of this alternate, a lot of people offering to help with food or water. I definitely took them up on water sometimes, but I’m thinking I’m carrying too much food for this section. I didn’t eat any last night cause my stomach felt weird and I still have a ton of food left. I also just cracked my jar of almond butter and that shit is not good. I don’t even think I’m gonna eat it.

I have liked this Kaibab bypass alternate. It’s been dirt road walking, but it’s definitely more scenic than that portion of the Arizona Trail that parallels it.

Song of the day: I don’t care-apocalyptica