4/30 Mile 301.8 Jerry Cabin

Satisfyingly difficult push today. Weather started out cold, wet, and slippery, and the terrain meant we had to be super careful. It eventually dried up, but stayed pretty cold. There was a lot of up and down, including one of the hardest continuous climbs we’ve had so far on trail; it seemed to go on forever. To top it all off, there was a rock-scrambly ridgewalk of around 1.4 miles. This part was a whole lot of fun, scrambling over boulders along the top of an exposed ridgeline with incredible mountain views off both sides. The fact that we got through all of today’s challenges, still had a great time, and still did some good miles was pretty confidence-inducing. Also, a milestone: we passed 300 miles!

5/1 Mile 317.3 Hogback Ridge

Pleasant but quite cold 15 and a half miles. Some nice trail magic from a man named Omissimus, got an ice cream sandwich and a mountain dew. Being on trail reeeeaaally makes you appreciate any cold carbonated drink.

Really happy that Gwen and I started hiking together, our hiking styles naturally mesh well and the conversation flows so easily about every topic you can think of. Also, fun fact, it just so happens that we were only born 12 days apart!

5/2 Mile 338 No Business Knob

Big day today! First 20+ miler! Not an easy one either, the push up to Big Bald was a struggle. There was a moment where Gwen was like “Oh hey, look at that bald wayyy up there across the valley” and then half an hour later, guess where we were. It was a nice day for a push, though. Summitted Big Bald with Sprout, Teabag, Gwen, and Billy Bob. Then we all pressed on to the next shelter for a big lunch, which was about our halfway point for the day. Some well timed trail magic on our way to lunch, including pasta salad, brownies, bananas, and La Croix. Hard to believe I’ve officially been out here a month!

There was quite a bit of climbing for our first 20 miler, but all in all, I feel pretty good. I’ve got the start of what might become my first blisters on trail on my heels, but we’ll see. Was happy to see Jessie and Kory roll into camp today, it’s been a few days! Jessie pulled a full marathon to get here today!