Miles Hiked 23.5
Elevation 7,100 feet
Miles Hiked Today 17.0
Like any large group, ours was in a flurry to take down tents, eat breakfast and pack up in order to be on the trail by 8 AM. I was ready to go before the rest, so I headed out by myself. Big mistake. I missed a turn to cross a creek and went about .4 of a mile past the turn. I doubled back and picked up the tracks of the group who were well on their way.
I was fine going down the trail alone. My only concern is the group may not know I’m behind them. It was a surprise when I caught up to the group later in the morning, but I was glad they now knew where I was.
The day’s hike took us through an area of water and lots of sand. The sand made it difficult to walk and cut down my pace and I imagine that of the group. Along with the sand there were several small stream crossings. The last was almost knee deep and there appeared to be no way to cross without getting wet, so I simply walked through the water and soaked my pants and shoes. That made for a nice soup of water and sand. Yuck!
We later entered into a stand of trees. It was nice to get out of the sand. Our target for the night was to camp near Wildcat Spring. We reached the spring a little before 5:00 PM and filled up with water.
Paul, who scouted ahead on the trail, told us that there were no camping sites nearby, and that we would have to hike back about 15 minutes for a place to camp. Initially, I started to walk back but then changed my mind. I told the group I was continuing by myself. I hiked 45 minutes and found a good campsite. I setup my tent, ate dinner and was in my sleeping bag by 7:30 PM.
