I woke at 5am today. It was dark and cold out and I didn’t feel like getting up. So I ate breakfast in my sleeping bag and eventually got moving at 6:30. The trail was very flat and gentle. It was cool and beautiful. I walked for a while and then decided to put on podcasts for a while.

I had service for a couple hours and called Robin. The trail wound around a rim and had a great view of Mt. McGloughlin behind us. I stopped for my first break about 9 miles in and kept it to about 10 minutes. Then I made it to 14 miles and filled up on water. Sadly there was no reliable or decent water on trail for 23 miles. So I carried 3 liters which sucked. It was so heavy and I felt sluggish. I hiked and the day got very hot. I’d done 20 miles by around 2pm. I had to do around 37 to get to Mazama village at Crater Lake.

I was bored and my feet hurt and I was tired but I pushed and pushed and pushed until I made it to the road. I got there just after 7pm and walked the road to the visitor center area. I got to camp and I met up with Shit Kicker, who I hadn’t seen since Kearsarge Pass. I was so happy to see a familiar face and he reciprocated and said he’d been so lonely too. So we agreed to hike together for a few days.

I made dinner and am in my tent. A long day but a great end.