To PCT mile 2450.2 (stats here).
I slept well and because the later part of the previous day went much better, I felt motivated and good in the morning. I was able to get up 5:45am. I woke up Star Wars whose mobile phone did not work and got moving already 6:30am. The feet did feel a bit worse than the previous night. I was hoping them to be better but pushing the mileage the previous day was not the wisest thing, surprise surprise.
The day started with an ascend from the valley. The Washington part of the trail seems to be pretty much going constantly up or down. In the beginning of the climb, I felt a small urge to answer the call of nature so that is what I did. I needed to fight to get the deed done, which was irritating. Usually the business makes you feel great. This time I was just frustrated. Still, better to have even a slightly lighter load when going up.
My feet got worse as the day progressed. Stretching them did not help as much as during the previous day. Seems that they really need proper rest. I felt exceedingly stupid leaving Snoqualmie after so little rest, especially as the hostel would have been so great place to do it.
I met with the German couple, Simon and Angelica, that I briefly saw in Snoqualmie. I first met them way back in California. Back then, I was way faster than they were. This really shows how consistency pays off with the progreswsion. It will be interesting to graph out my progress on trail later on, when everything is said and done. I want to analyze that so that I can be wiser in the future.
I kept leap frogging with Simon and Angelica the rest of the day. It was nice to see them many times. I could not enjoy the surroundings and having a conversation to distract myself from the futility of hiking in such a condition was my life line. I miss the feeling that hiking would feel physically strenuous. Now I hardly break a sweat, and carrying a backpack feels a nuisance when otherwise it is not physically hard. Except the pain.
The day was mostly climbing up. So far, going up has been easier with the pain than going down. At the end of the day, I felt some sharp spikes of pain when going up. I then needed to tread carefully. I grew a bit worried if I would get to a state where I could not go forward at all. At least with the tendonitis, I could continue walking with the pain even if it was hard. Slowing down further and placing my steps carefully helped.
Originally I intended to hit the same mileage as the previous day and do all the bigger climbs that were still left before reaching Stevens Pass. As the day progressed, it got chillier and it was apparent that I could not achieve that. I do not like to camp by lakes while it is this cold, but that was now the only reasonable option. Deception Lakes were beautiful, but I had no time to enjoy them as I was on the campsite 7:30pm. During the entire day, I was not able to enjoy any views. Only Mt. Rainier far away in the distance gave me the thrills as I was having a break and did not need to deal with the pain at that very moment.
I set my tent next to a small stream. It was the only even spot that I could find in the darkening evening. The bests spots were already taken. There seemed not to be a chance of rain so I thought little about this.
My skills with the tent need lots of improvement. I could not get the sides of the tent to be even. I was too lazy to correct the situtation and just crawled in to have my dinner. With the current calorie consumption, I do eat too much. I do not feel hunger but I do feel the urge to eat. I consumed my cold soak, a protein bar, package of Oreos and a block of chocolate without enjoying it too much. I would need to walk more to enjoy the food more.
I slept well and because the later part of the previous day went much better, I felt motivated and good in the morning. I was able to get up 5:45am. I woke up Star Wars whose mobile phone did not work and got moving already 6:30am. The feet did feel a bit worse than the previous night. I was hoping them to be better but pushing the mileage the previous day was not the wisest thing, surprise surprise.
 |
| The name of the game is go down to valley, get up from valley. |
The day started with an ascend from the valley. The Washington part of the trail seems to be pretty much going constantly up or down. In the beginning of the climb, I felt a small urge to answer the call of nature so that is what I did. I needed to fight to get the deed done, which was irritating. Usually the business makes you feel great. This time I was just frustrated. Still, better to have even a slightly lighter load when going up.
My feet got worse as the day progressed. Stretching them did not help as much as during the previous day. Seems that they really need proper rest. I felt exceedingly stupid leaving Snoqualmie after so little rest, especially as the hostel would have been so great place to do it.
I met with the German couple, Simon and Angelica, that I briefly saw in Snoqualmie. I first met them way back in California. Back then, I was way faster than they were. This really shows how consistency pays off with the progreswsion. It will be interesting to graph out my progress on trail later on, when everything is said and done. I want to analyze that so that I can be wiser in the future.
 |
| Lots of grand views that I did not enjoy that much. |
I kept leap frogging with Simon and Angelica the rest of the day. It was nice to see them many times. I could not enjoy the surroundings and having a conversation to distract myself from the futility of hiking in such a condition was my life line. I miss the feeling that hiking would feel physically strenuous. Now I hardly break a sweat, and carrying a backpack feels a nuisance when otherwise it is not physically hard. Except the pain.
The day was mostly climbing up. So far, going up has been easier with the pain than going down. At the end of the day, I felt some sharp spikes of pain when going up. I then needed to tread carefully. I grew a bit worried if I would get to a state where I could not go forward at all. At least with the tendonitis, I could continue walking with the pain even if it was hard. Slowing down further and placing my steps carefully helped.
 |
| Lots of walking on rocks that I do not fancy. |
Originally I intended to hit the same mileage as the previous day and do all the bigger climbs that were still left before reaching Stevens Pass. As the day progressed, it got chillier and it was apparent that I could not achieve that. I do not like to camp by lakes while it is this cold, but that was now the only reasonable option. Deception Lakes were beautiful, but I had no time to enjoy them as I was on the campsite 7:30pm. During the entire day, I was not able to enjoy any views. Only Mt. Rainier far away in the distance gave me the thrills as I was having a break and did not need to deal with the pain at that very moment.
I set my tent next to a small stream. It was the only even spot that I could find in the darkening evening. The bests spots were already taken. There seemed not to be a chance of rain so I thought little about this.
My skills with the tent need lots of improvement. I could not get the sides of the tent to be even. I was too lazy to correct the situtation and just crawled in to have my dinner. With the current calorie consumption, I do eat too much. I do not feel hunger but I do feel the urge to eat. I consumed my cold soak, a protein bar, package of Oreos and a block of chocolate without enjoying it too much. I would need to walk more to enjoy the food more.
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