CDT day 57-
Miles Hiked today: 30
CDT total distance traveled: 1983
Total trip miles: 6863
Avg temps: 50s
Injuries: hamstring Achilles
Pain: feet
Exhaustion level: moderate
Favorite meal: aunt vic casserole Today was the worst weather I have ever hiked in. I began the day in a valley hiking along a creek where I saw yet another moose. Then the rest of the morning I did what I call the colorado shuffle. I would put on my full rain gear for a twenty minute downpour then the sun would come out and I would stow my rain gear only to repeat the process countless times. As I climbed up to 12k feet the weather got scary. I was walking along parallel to the crest of the ridge and there was a flash of light and then a deafening boom only a few seconds later. This mean some serious lightning was coming in so I ran, not on the trail but straight downhill into the valley on the uneven ground. I wasn’t worried about rolled ankles or anything like this. I could feel the electricity in the air. I found a small ditch and crawled under a scrawny root system there just as the marble hail started falling. The flashes of light were now followed immediately by the thunder. It was right over me. I had ditched my poles (they attract lightning) and was sitting in an ever growing puddle. I was cold and all my stuff was soaked. But eventually the storm let up and I could make my move to a lower, more level clump of trees to pitch my tent and count my blessings. For the next two hours I just sat in my tent and heard the storm roar. I am somewhat warm but very wet and did not expect to be camping this early.
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