Mile 1568 To 1588

Kevin’s First 20 Miler

We wake, have breakfast and get a reasonable start on the trail by 6:30. It is cool and overcast, and we make good time. At 8:30 we pass by a tent with people sleeping in it. I tell Kevin they must be section hikers as no self respecting thru-hikers would still be in bed at this hour. Later in the day we are passed by Klutz and Mountain Goat. I laugh as I realize it was their tent we passed. They have not been getting enough sleep so they treated themselves to a very lazy start. We pass each other a couple more times, but they are clearly faster.

Feeling the Heat

After a long day and on a steep climb in the heat, Kevin is starting to feel it. He is sweating profusely. We break by a small spring. Kevin drinks water, snacks and fights off nausea. We eventually press on up and over the ridge to a small campsite by a pathetic trickle of a creek. On his second day, and really only first full day, Kevin has completed a 20 miler.

Delayed a week for the wedding, we are feeling pressure from the advancing PCT herd. We are seeing streams of thru-hikers and they are all trying to squeeze into our campsite. We meet Tower, Willow, and several others. Loran walks into camp, as surprised to see me as I am him.

We cook mashed potatoes and tuna, and stuff it into flour tortillas which we then stuff into our mouths. It is clear that Kevin is not a complainer. He has not complained about the elevation, the heat, his feet, his muscles, or anything. The look on his face eating the potato burrito is as close to a complaint as I have seen.

We fall asleep to some light rain and a few flashes of lightning.

Trinity Alps