Day 296

Day 296 (AZT 1): 16 miles

I got to the terminus and started hiking around 2pm, later then I was hoping but that seems to be the case for every terminus. After less than a hundred yards of hiking I just started smiling and was so happy to be back in the desert. I love this landscape. The weather is nice. And the terrain is easy money compared to the AT.

I did a short day and only hiked for about 6 hours. I’m kinda surprised I was covering ground so fast without even really trying too hard. My pack is also the heaviest it will probably be this whole trail. I’m still rocking a good amount of winter gear but the main thing now is I’m carrying way too much food. I went a little crazy at Walmart. I’m not sure how long this food will last me but it will definitely be more than the 3 days I was planning on to resupply at Grand Canyon village. Whenever it’s later in the day and I’m carrying this much weight of food it’s really easy to talk myself into doing a little shorter day and covering more ground when I’m carrying less weight. That’s how it worked out tonight. 16 miles still ain’t bad for a 6 hour day. Ready to rock out a full day tomorrow.

First night back I got to (partially) enjoy my favorite part of the desert: the sunset and sunrise. I was in an area with trees most of the day but as the sun was setting I could see peeks of the vibrant colors of the sky. It was lovely, and it’s gonna be even better when I’ve got an expanse view for it.

Also experienced one of my favorite frequent surprises. I’ll be night hiking, walking along pretty hard, and then all of a sudden turn off my headlamp to take a break or piss or something and look up and the stars are just incredible. The most profound experience of this was when I was pushing a big day through lassen park, sat down exhausted around midnight, looked up and was stunned. Tonight was damn good too.

Set up the tent for the first night tonight to get a feel. Not sure if I’ll be doing much cowboy camping or not since it will be a little chilly at night (still using my winter sleeping bag).

Song of the day: coming back-James Blake and SZA