Day:246
Direction: Southbound
Trail location:
Cumulative miles hiked 2019/2021:
Cumulative miles hiked 2021:
Miles hiked today:
Elevation:
High/low temp/humidity:
Spinning on the turntable:

My feet are really bothering me. My left big toe is now making a clicking noise at random moments. My right ankle is quite irritated with life in general. My left knee likes to throw out an occasional twinge just so I don’t forget that it’s alive and irritated too. I’m popping two Tylenol and two Ibuprofen in the mornings and then augmenting with one or two Ibuprofen during the day. I’ve been soaking my ankle every day, or almost every day. No swelling, but it sure is tender. Did I mention that this section of the trail is challenging? The toe and knee are annoying, but not deal breakers. The right ankle is a potential issue. I’ll just be wandering down the trail when it gives off a shooting pain, and then I end up twisting into some contorted position. I need new shoes!

The climb up Mather was a serious slog. Serious. Slog.

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It’s interesting to make it to the top of these passes. They’re all very similar, yet unique. Rocks, rocks and more rocks equate to a Pass. Yet the rock formations, the rock composition, the steepness of the pass may differ. When I stand in these passes I feel small, the magnitude of my insignificance in the scale of such gigantic landscapes.

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I managed to bite it not too long after lunch today. Ass over teakettle. Complete biff in the middle of the trail. My right ankle gave out, or I tripped, or I just fell. Not really sure what happened, but just positive that I bit it and rolled once.

As far as injuries go, this was insignificant. I washed it off right after I fell, but it kept bleeding. I washed it again and it kept bleeding. I gave up and just let it be. It looked far more impressive than it was. Most of the hikers that I’m traveling South “with” have fallen as well. Perhaps it’s just part of this trail. I heard trail murmurs of another hiker who fell and either badly sprained or broke an ankle. He’s waiting for a friend to hike in and help him hike out.

I’m continuing my rock hopping ways as I work my way South. So far, knock on wood, I haven’t gotten too wet in the crossings. It’s easy to see how the river crossings can be so terrible and dangerous in the early hiking season with a heavy snow pack runoff.