Day 316

Day 316 (AZT 21): 33 miles

Early in the morning I took a little side trip into a campground to appreciate a toilet and yogi some water. The first campers I saw I asked where the water spigot was around here. They said they didn’t think there was one. I said okay in a disappointed voice and started to slowly walk away and right on que they said “well we have some of you need it.” I was 99% sure there wasn’t a water spigot there when I went in. Definitely a skill I improved throughout the year.

I got some pretty gross water later in the day that had a lot of swimmers in it. I didn’t realize there was a water cache a few miles after so I didn’t really need it. And good thing there was cause I was putting down water pretty quick even though it was cloudy today which was awesome to finally get some respite from the sun.

I began the 4,000 foot climb up mt mica in the afternoon. It looked a little intimidating on the map but it wasn’t bad. It was a nice steady climb up that was only really overgrown in a few spots. When I got up a decent ways I finally got some service on my phone but it was 2 bars of 3g. Before this year I didn’t even know they was still a thing but I got it here and in Wyoming.

A few of the hikers I was leapfrogging with all day (one that hiked the PCT this year but we didn’t meet) camped near the top of mica but I pushed on a few more miles and went to bed around 11:30. It was a little chilly up above 8,000 feet near the top. When it got to be around 11:00 and I was stumbling a lot and moving slow I knew it was time for bed.

Song of the day: post Malone-Sam feldt