Miles Hiked 394.2
Elevation 12,543 feet
Miles Hiked Today 13.7
I started out at 7 AM. There were quite a few tents at the campsite, which is unusual to have so many. Most times I camp alone or with one or two other tents. Anyway, about half were gone already.
For the last couple of days, all the hiking has been above 12,000 feet elevation. The trail may go up or down several hundred feet, but not below 12,000 feet for any length of time. I’m still struggling with the altitude and catching my breath is difficult on climbs.
The weather doesn’t help either. The sun came out briefly this morning, but a hail and rain storm hit in the afternoon. Because of the altitude, there’s nowhere to go to get out of these storms. The trail is above the treeline. And it’s cold. I don’t think I have seen 70° in weeks. Nights are in the 50’s and 40’s.
My target for the day was a lake just off the trail. I arrived in a rain storm. The tent went up fast and I got in to dry off. The rain storm lasted about an hour. When it stopped, I got water from the lake and ate dinner. Right now there are three tents here at the lake, but I expect more. It’s raining again and I’m in my sleeping bag already at 6:30 PM trying to stay warm.
By the way, less than 100 miles to the trail’s southern terminus.
