27 May Wednesday

Camped at 8600 ft we were expecting a frosty morning. But the winds blew all night and morning arrived at 40 degrees! Yahoo! A long descent on a smooth trail in the shade of conifers is the stuff of hiking dreams. We left the towering groves of aspen, trading them for pinion and junipers and a few cacti. Flycatchers and pinion jays flitted between them. A helicopter broke the stillness, circling back and forth, searching for what?

Small herds of deer remained warily distant. Mountain lion tracks and scat began to decorate the trail. We were hoping to spot an elk herd, but saw only tracks, along with footprints of hikers moving in front of us. The sun was blazing, so we tried to deploy the umbrella on Deb’s pack, but the wind was too gusty. Maybe tomorrow.

Because tomorrow, we start a 35 mile section with no water, we stashed water at this site several days ago. We will need to carry about 2 1/2 gallons to last 2 days. Water is so heavy! There are occasional water caches put out for hikers by locals or even other hikers, but the upcoming stretch is too remote.