May 9

278-306

28 miles.

This was our biggest hiking day yet. The trail was easy and we stopped for the night at 630. We could have easily gone over 30 if we had a reason to hurry. It is a long hiking season and we need to wait for snow to melt a bit more in the Sierra. The water in my bottles was icy from cold overnight temps. After walking a few miles we encounter occasional snowy patches of trail.

The morning is spent up in the pines, seeing pinecones that would give you one hell of a concussion if they fell on you. They weigh at least 3 pounds, and are covered in sharp spikes.

During an early snack break I unknowingly sit next to an ant hill. Within minutes I am covered in hundreds of ants. Amber slaps as many as she can off me and I spend the next hour finding them in my hair, beard, and on my shirt. BAD.

In the afternoon we descend into a series of canyons, walking next to beautiful creeks. We are elated at only having to carry a liter or less of water, after weeks of carrying 3-4. That saves us 6 pounds off our backs.

Mid afternoon we cross the 300 mile mark and encounter the biggest group of hikers we have seen so far. It is a group of 12, all hiking together.

It became annoying hiking around them. Some would zip ahead, walking as fast as they can to get in front of us, and then take a break to pee or rest immediately off trail. This repeated multiple times, with 12 hikers, and really messed with our hiking flow. We tried to take a long break at a swimming hole, but still ended up caught leap frogging with all of them in the early evening. We eventually pass them all, and find a little cowboy campsite(camping out in the open, without setting up a tent) next to a tributary of deep Creek.