Day 302

Day 302 (AZT 7): 39 miles

In addition to the calendar year triple crown and operation 10k (if anyone’s got a better name lmk) I’m also doing a fundraiser for the American foundation for Suicide Prevention. My goal was $8,000 for about 8,000 miles. Thank you to all of those that already donated. Right now I think I’m a little over halfway there so if you haven’t donated yet please consider doing so. You can donate at the link in my bio or Venmo Brandon_weis and I’ll do a collective donation from the venmo money I get. AFSP is a good organization that works toward a great cause. Plz donate. I don’t like asking for money. Just do it so I can stop.

I started off the day with doing a bushwack to get back to the trail. Not sure if it saved any time but my brain doesn’t allow me to go backwards (certainly a detriment at times). Then it was pretty easy hiking all day around flagstaff. I actually saw a decent number of day hikers today, other than the Grand Canyon probably more people than I’ve seen the whole trail so far.

I actually don’t think I’ve seen a prime sunrise yet on the AZT. I’m either still sleeping (usually not planned) or I’m engulfed in a forest and can’t really see anything other than that the sky is a little pink. I’m hoping as I go more south it’ll open up more and I’ll have more time not surrounded by trees. Although I do like the shade they provide so I’m sure I’ll be complaining about that when it comes. It’s been nice so far. I really haven’t had to worry about getting sunburnt too much. I put sunscreen on my face once a day and that’s about it. I also haven’t really felt hot yet either. It’s perfect during the daytime (around 60-70) and it’s been much warmer at night than I’ve expected. I was expecting low 20s but I’m not even sure it’s been below freezing yet. Carrying my heavy winter sleeping bag is definitely overkill but my summer sleeping bag is a piece of garbage and I still haven’t gave in and bought a new one yet cause I’m a cheapskate at heart. That was definitely my least favorite piece of gear all year.

Staying with a friend in flagstaff tonight so I got a shower and laundry done. Although doing that less than a week on trail feels like cheating. After going over 30 days without a shower and 60 without laundry, a week feels like nothing!

Song of the day: I wish you would-dj khaled and others