Friday, May 10, 2019 – 12 miles

I woke during the night to flashes of light. I’ve not weathered a thunderstorm in a tent before. My poor tent – I’ve patched more of the holes, but it’s not what one would call waterproof anymore. I had trouble falling asleep again, and the lightning seemed to go on and on. Water was pooled in one corner of the floor when I woke up in the morning. Light rain was still falling. I wanted to wait for a break in the rain to pack up my things, but none came, so eventually I packed up in the wet. My nose was running, hopefully from allergies rather than a cold, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a cold. It’s hard to fist bump someone, then immediately take a bottle of hand sanitizer from your pocket and rub it all over your hands while continuing the conversation. Even while shiftily avoiding eye contact.

As expected, the scenery was engulfed by low-hanging clouds, but at least the wind was mild and not driving droplets into my glasses. I wore my massive new poncho until the rain stopped, then kept it on as a warmth layer.

The trail had steep sections today and was mentally a bore until the vegetation began favouring pines. Cottonwood Creek had plenty of water with a strange buildup of foam, while Landers Creek looked more palatable.

Camping in the Landers Creek area was appealing with a carpet of pine needles so I set up there, stopping early but with no real expectation of being able to dry anything. The scenery is like water with bits of earth blurred in.