Miles Hiked 444.3
Elevation 10,427 feet
Miles Hiked Today 18.5
It was cold as usual this morning. After breakfast, I took down my tent, and I was on the way by 7:15 AM. The day started out with rather modest gains in elevation, but then the trail went up to 12,000 feet. I still have not acclimated to the altitude and probably never will. Consequently, I had trouble breathing for the rest of the day.
There was the requisite hail storm to deal with in the afternoon. I had just crossed a pass, which is always scary and dangerous in a storm. Anyway, I made it and headed for a lower elevation and trees to get out of the hail.
Towards the end of the day, I loaded up on water – three liters. There will be no reliable water for about 20 miles.
I hiked a little longer than usual, and finally found a campsite at 5:30. It has a great view, and no one else has joined me as of 8:30 PM.
Only 40 miles to the end of the trail and Durango!
