colleen stinchcombe

Pct miles: 481.3 to 498.2
Miles: 16.9

I don’t get to bed until late the night before because I’m up and reading online. At 4 am I hear Caddy and Hobo up, trying to be quiet, but I want to get as much of the hike done early as I can too. I pack my things and like magic we’re all ready at almost exactly the same time. It’s still dark out and we hike by flashlight. We hike and talk about our families and our lives for four miles, and then I take a break for breakfast and to dig a cathole and then I don’t see them again during the day.

The weather is surprisingly pleasant, the wind keeping the heat at bay. The flies are annoying but not the worst they’ve been. I manage to do 10 by 10am thanks to the early start. My mind is preoccupied by thinking about my family and I don’t notice much about the trail. I’m tired by a poor night’s sleep and take several breaks. At 5 miles from where Caddy and Hobo will be camping I see Mountain, Tallboy and The Swiss Boys all curled up taking a nap. I find a spot of shade nearby and set up my tent and crawl inside and fall asleep. 

When I wake up it’s around 1 and I eat some food and by 2 I’m hiking again. I was worried it would be hot but instead it’s shaded and windy and overall pleasant. Two miles from camp I meet another hiker. Z Man, and he tells me about his backpacking trips to Arizona as we climb the side trail to the campground. 

I find Caddy and Hobo and set up and then we make a trek up a hill to a cistern, where we fish for water. There’s a bucket and a string and a stick and it feels a bit like a carnival game. 

We walk back down and eat dinner with Twerk and Z Man and then it’s early to bed – we’re trying for a 330 wake up to avoid the heat while trekking to Hiker Town.