I tried to sleep in, but ended up awake at 6am. I had to wait for the continental breakfast to open. After eating I was ready to get back into the woods. I might not have been so eager if I had known how cold it would be. After getting out of town I could feel the wind cutting through my layers. Luckily I kept my winter gloves through the desert section because I would have been more miserable without them. The ponds that provide water in this section were all frozen and there was a considerable amount of snow on the surrounding peaks. The cold didn’t stop the elk from roaming the area and I saw many of them crash through the woods when they noticed my presence. I didn’t eat much today because it was too cold to stop. I topped out at just over 9,000’ elevation and the temperature for the day did not climb over freezing. It was like hiking with a slight nagging pain. The pain in this case was the cold. I have enough layers to hike in it, but not to hike comfortably in it. I ran low on water all day because I never filled more than one bottle at a time and I would have to carry this bottle inside my jacket or it would freeze. A mile before setting up camp I came across a metal box that was supposed to have water in it. It was void of water, but it had something better. There were two unopened hand warmers in there! I took one and was so happy the rest of the evening and when I crawled in my tent for the warmth it provided. The low for tonight is 13 degrees, and being at elevation it will be even a couple degrees colder. At least I am a warm sleeper.
Miles 33
Total miles 6510
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