ET's Info-Stew

23:28 - This morning I awoke at about 8 AM after a pretty good night of sleep. At 10 AM we hit the trail back to the car. Because Carl was carrying about 55 pounds with that 15 pound bowling ball rock, I expected we'd hit the car at about 2 PM. Well we set a good steady pace and hit the half-way point at 11:20 AM! 3.5 miles in 80 minutes is pretty good considering our shape and the terrain.

The last mile things were getting tough for both Carl and me, but we pushed through it. Toward the end the trail forks and we took the right fork. This led us to the campground so our ending was a little anti-climactic. So for future reference the trailhead parking is the left fork. We made it to the car at 13:05, we we went way faster than I expected. In this case, steady pace wins the race.

On reflection of this trip, a few things are noteworthy on the gear side of things. First, using the backpack to support my neck at night really improved my sleep. Second, I don't want to bring jerky anymore. I didn't eat hardly any of it, and the first day I got some stuck in my molars and couldn't get it out until I went and bought floss today. I'd rather just take more Cheez-its or something. Third, Imodium AD is my friend. Fourth, it may be time for a new tent since I have a decent sized hole in the floor. It could be patched, but it's also time for a new one.

There's also some noteworthy stuff that doesn't involve gear. First, I like solo day hikes a lot. Second, though being acclimated to the elevation helped a lot, being in better shape would have made this trip even more enjoyable. How many years have I been saying that? Third, I really like swimming in all the lakes. In fact, next time I'd like to take swimming goggles to make it even more fun. Fourth, on a less joyous note, I want to put on record that Bill asked me to do him the honor of spreading half of his ashes off the rocky ledge at his favorite Rockbound camp after he dies. I'm honored he would ask me to do that.

Now that this year's backpacking is over, it's time for the gear to go away. But I need to start getting busy for next year's trip, since Bill and Carl would like the next trip to be in Colorado.