Day 54 (ODT 22)

Day 54 (ODT 22): 22 miles

The vibes were off today. I’m carrying a heavy pack due to a lot of food because this will be a long stretch and I definitely overpacked. So that’s probably part of it, but I just was t feeling great. I overslept a lot and moved pretty slow all day. The cross country stuff was really slow today cause it was rocky the whole time.

When I reached some dirt roads I was happier, but still not in a great mood. I decided to take a little alternate that followed a dirt road a little longer rather than dropping in the slot canyon. I’ll be dropping down in the slot canyon first thing tomorrow morning, but this alternate allegedly cut out some of the “most extreme bushwhacking.” I knew that if I started doing that today, I would go from upset, to hating it. I actually ended my day early around 6 and am camped right before I have to drop down into the canyon.

I assume the bushwhacking will still be pretty bad tomorrow morning but we’ll see. According to another recent hiker from a data sheet there are also “10 swims” of which I was only expecting one. I sense this slot canyon will be pretty, but I will be pretty frustrated.

I forgot to mention a few things yesterday. I walked through a field of flowers that smelled like bubbles. I was being circled overhead by a screeching hawk which paranoid me. The same thing happened today too. And I finally saw a pronghorn run FAST. I’m guessing he had to be hauling at like 40 mph but it was finally cool to see one run away and show some actual speed.

Song of the day: my favorite part-mac Miller