CDT Day 5 (5/23/23)

Miles 99.8- 120.1 (20.3 miles)

Verbatim

I camped on one liter of water last night. I expected the experience to be bad, that is, getting up in the middle of the night desperately thirsty and devouring all the water I needed for my morning miles. I was especially worried because I had such swollen sunburns on my thighs and calves. But I actually slept pretty well! It took me a while to fall asleep though. I was, as a result of my sunburn, both overheated and freezing at the same time. Naked beneath my bag, so that my gooch and butt sweats evenly to the rest of my body. I found myself on my side in a ball, tucking my arms between my legs to warm them. My legs were burning hot. After a time my hip would get sore, placed as it was atop hard packed gravel and sand with only a doubled 1/8” cell foam pad as cushion. When I’d adjust position I’d start shivering instantly against the evening air. It was slightly concerning and almost comical. To be hot and cold at the same time! Eventually I put on my animal sweater to help regulate my upper temperature while allowing for my sleeping bag to shift. Worked like a charm.

The morning miles came very stiffly. I enjoyed getting water at a cow pond in the shade of some trees. Now that I’m climbed into some actual hills there’s a bit more shade to come by. It’s very very nice and prolongs the morning cool and shade time significantly. Now I’ve been siesta-ing at a cow watering hole for almost four hours. I got here at 11:30 and will stay until 5. Then it’s only eight miles and a climb until camp. Tomorrow I’ll nero at the Burro Mountain Resort.

It is good to take a nero tomorrow. The eight miles up around Jacks Peak and over Burro Peak were aggressive. My right achilles is pained from all the pulling up hill it had to do. My knee ligament is exhausted from all the supporting it had to do on the steep downhill. I’m camped in a wash tonight. It should be pretty comfy. I also was in brief contact with Scrambles today. She’s in Leadville, CO. That’s quite a ways ahead! It’s fun playing catch up.

Post Note

When you camp in a place without accessible water we call it “dry” camping. It means you have to think about how you react to being thirsty. It means you should get up early the next day. It means it’s okay to drink what you have only if you’re positioned to gain from the current act of drinking that water. If you’re going to need it later, then don’t drink it now. That is, of course, unless you won’t make it to the moment of “drinking it later” without drinking it now.

Cow pond water is delectable! Lots of vegetables present in that water. Good for your gut biome I’m sure. And, where there’s pond water there’s bees! That’s always wonderful to see.

When I’m done walking for the day my body keeps sweating! The sweating can be especially profuse in the tight crevices of the human body. Especially especially by and between one’s genitalia and butt. These areas are especially sensitive to the degradation of not drying out because they’re high friction areas and are sensitive areas. And if you treat them poorly they become very painful areas. A sleeping bag always covers one’s abdomen and waist. If you need your sleeping bag to keep warm you will continue to sweat in these areas without the cool soothing cold air. You can pull off your bag to alight your abdomen with cool clear are and thereby shiver and hopefully stop sweating. Or you can just own it and sweat it all out.

If you don’t like reading about the realities of bodies on trail, I’m sorry about that. It’s actually really interesting to learn about your body without the traditional sanitary and sedentary lifestyle. I have stretch marks because of thruhiking. I have what continue to be irredeemable blister scarring on my heels. The “print” of the skin will never be the same there. Body talk is part of the experience. The trail culture has different body norms than the wider Western culture. This can be off-putting at first, but really liberates hikers to feel comfortable in their own skin and meeting others right where they’re at.