
Another bright and early start. I have to admit that this morning was finally hard for me to get up. I woke up at my usual early hour but wasn’t too keen to leap out of bed. It was cozy and my body was battered. 2 days of 20 mile days and one more to go. I am in awe of Kelsey and Travis’ commitment and dedication to seeing this through. They amaze me for sure and I feel honored to be able to spend time with them on this adventure of theirs.
Once out of ‘bed,’ I got the food and filled the water bottles. T started up the water for K’s coffee. We got going and crested over the ridge of Squaw about an hour later. There was a sweeping view of the lake and lifts! We were walking on the snow that had been skied on only weeks before. I got to go down what I would consider my most harrowing snow slope yet. K and T were so snow savvy that I felt like a bit of a wuss. I tried to make myself feel better by admitting that I hadn’t been on snow in over 2 years. Small comfort. |

We sped along toward a summit called Tinkerknob. We had a brief touchdown for lunch then off to this super amazing crest. They don’t call it the Pacific Crest Trail for nothing. K plugged in a podcast while T and I rambled along. We were level for a bit then started dropping. Lots of stairs and we got back to water. Both yesterday and today were rather dry. As we descended, the whisper of a shin splint turned into a full on roar. When we got to Donner Pass, there was some trail magic and I was grateful for the pause.
As soon as we resumed our march, I winced. I managed through the last few miles then gathered my limbs into the car and proceeded to limp which would be my MO for the next week for sure. When we got to Kelsey’s aunt’s house where I was able to take a shower and count my blisters. 11 total. Wow. I’m pretty impressed with myself. 65 miles over 3 days at 8,000 feet with a 30 pound pack. Go me! |