Day 15 on the Trail

Dave's report yesterday:

As of 6/26/11
Miles today - about 11
Miles to date - 167.4

Dave was a little short of his intended campsite, as he had his toughest day yet. The weather was good, but the rocky terrain was extremely steep, going both up and down.  He said the climbs were like a roller coaster, a steep climb then a steep descent, over and over.  He is tired and said he reminds himself he does not have to stick to a schedule, that it's okay to slow down and not beat himself up.  I agree!

Dave came across some nice campsites about 4 pm, but since he had hoped to get to the Fingerboard Shelter, he kept going.  Later, he was wishing he had stopped as he still had several miles to go and it was getting late.  Fortunately the trail went through another fairly flat area, the edge of a farm perhaps, so he stopped.  He could tell people had camped there before and he was therefore hoping the land owner wouldn't mind.  Of course when Dave leaves a campsite he "leaves nothing behind but footprints" as the saying goes.

I asked him what he had for dinner and he laughed as he said, The first thing that came out of my pack.  Turned out to be his favorite black beans, corn and rice 'stew' that he ate with a tortilla.  He has been very happy with his meals this year, and that's a relief since he put so much time and effort into creating, testing, dehydrating and vacuum-packing his food.  His only disappointment has been the 'brown' trail bars.  They must have not dried completely or ??  He asked me to take them out of the second box I mailed (which I did Saturday).  Even though they, like all the food, had been vacuum packed, the package they were in had blown up like a big bubble.  Hmm I don't think that's a good sign.  I threw them away.

Saturday night he had chicken stew with tomatoes, onions and black beans, and he's also had pot roast, barbecued pork, and lasagna.  Now that I write that, I can't remember him commenting on his lasagna.  I'll have to ask how it turned out.

Dave was hoping to get to the motel by evening today (Monday) but now it's going to be Tuesday, or even Wednesday if the trail continues to be tough.  You can do it, David!