Waking up in the nice Scott Mountain campground, it was easy to spend some extra time having a coffee at the picnic table.
Amazing what sitting off the ground will do for you 🙂 Started hiking at 8:30am.
After a big climb, the trail stayed high today (7200-7500ft) which meant good views but also lots of snow to traverse! There were no big drops so I wouldn’t call it dangerous but it sure slows you down and with the intense sun, it also seems to “bake” you even more than walking on forest ground.
Making 20 miles therefore wasn’t easy. Even down to 6000ft there were snow patches. All the water sources marked “seasonal” and “unreliable” are flowing strongly! When I finally got to the end (near a road), there wasn’t much energy left to cook dinner. Had a great sleep though as the trail descended to 5700ft so it was warm!!!
That’s a lot of stuff to carry! You are going to be fierce when this is done!