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Distance = 28 Miles; People Met = 2 This stretch took us through the Fishlake National Forest. We stopped at the Forest Service office in Beaver to get some information and a map before heading on. We learned two things … Continue reading
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After a long drive back from the airport, arriving at Milford early morning, we went back to Penny’s Diner for some coffee to get us going. There we ran into a group of twenty or so young adults on a … Continue reading
We flew back from Salt Lake City to JFK in order to attend a family wedding. As much as this hike is about humanity the best people to be with is family. We caught up with our three kids at the wedding and later at home; we were comforted to learn that they all are doing well. Cindy’s nephew Patrick appears to be marrying a wonderful woman in Marisa Fontana.
Our flight arrived in NYC at 5:50 the morning of the wedding, leaving plenty of time to absorb New York City around the airport and at Grand Central Station. Everything was surreal in comparison to the norm of hiking the Utah desert. Ironically, the heat was worse in New York, being in the same hundred degree range but far more humid. Other than that there was not much to link the two worlds together. It was almost as if we were watching a fictitious B movie.
I trained for the wedding. By that I mean I pigged out for two days prior, stretching my stomach for all the delicious wedding food. I was not disappointed with either the quantity or quality of food, but in the end I felt like I had betrayed my body. I had fine tuned my body to survive well in the desert, taking frequent but small quantities of food and water at the time. By building back up my fat reserves I knew I was building up my body’s demand again for water as well. I’m sure I will be paying for the transgression for a few days of hiking on my return.
I have had a problem with a swollen left foot for virtually the whole hike. Of late the swelling goes down with hiking, presumably as blood gets pumped through the body. Elevating my foot at night helps out as well. During the three days rest neither remedy occurred and my foot grew disturbingly large. I may need to take more aggressive measures to keep the swelling under control.
The Nevada issue of the newsletter will be coming out soon. Sign up for it if you have not done so yet. The previous newsletter bounced for three people, so if you did not receive the California edition and you signed up before June 25 you may want to try a different email or change the settings to allow for the newsletter.
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Distance = 28 Miles; People Met = 1 Most of the day featured no wind; I did not know that was possible. Whereas yesterday I thought 100 degrees was in the eighties, today felt in the nineties. Clearly, crosswinds are … Continue reading
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Distance = 29 Miles; People Met = 1 Hah! We fooled the southerly winds today. We started out going south but veered more east. Meanwhile, the winds were more from the southwest than the south. We dealt with crosswinds rather … Continue reading
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Landscape Memories: A Poem A weathered corral, wood and wire, Old memories of herds and herders in the wild west Waves of short grass, green and gold, Ancient memories of native hunters and hunting grounds Red rock mesas, in evening … Continue reading
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Distance = 24 Miles; People Met = 0 Our first full day hiking in Utah might have been the loneliest day of the journey. Several factors contributed to the haunting loneliness walking along Utah 21. Bleached bones were scattered everywhere. … Continue reading
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Distance = 16.8 Miles; People Met = 4 We talked to 4 people today on an otherwise lonely road stretch of the ADT. The first was biker Sebastian from Munich, Germany. Neither of us saw the other in the distance. … Continue reading
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Distance > 14 Miles. People Met = 0 We’ve been enjoying walking with Barrett as we swap stories and life history. Barrett confirmed a decision I made as being the correct one. We took a detour away from the Western … Continue reading
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Distance > 18 Miles; People Met = 0 The highlight of the day was getting to Cooper Summit (really a pass) in time for a break and to cheer Brian Starks on as he came over the pass during his … Continue reading
