Day 2: Roll On Down the Highway

Distance: 12.3 miles

Location: Fox Farm Pond (23.9)

I was up by 5:30 and on trail by 6:00.  To this point, the trail consisted of dual use trails.  Hiking trails in the summer and snow mobile trails in the winter.  They are flat and not very interesting.

Today the goal was 12.3 miles with a stretch goal of 19+ miles.  I had 2.5 liters of water remaining and the next sure source was 7.2 miles away.  As I was leaving early, I was taking advantage of the cooler temperatures.  The high was supposed to be close to 90° with high humidity.

I hiked the first 7.2 miles by 10 a.m.  I rested and ate second breakfast.  The next 5.1 miles were much harder.  It became quite hot.  I made it to my goal by 2:00 p.m. Now I had to decide to wait out the heat and try and hike the last 7.4 miles.

A little while later, two southbound hikers, Loren and Alise stop.  The had just come from where I was going.  They said it was reasonably flat, but there was no place to stealth camp.  If I couldn't finish, I'd be in trouble.  So 12.3 it is.

Loren and Alise also told me that many people skip the first 50 miles, because it is boring.  That means I'll run into more people soon 

That means I have to do a minimum of 14+ miles tomorrow to stay on schedule, but it is supposed to be ten degrees cooler.  It is a much better option.