Sunday, March 28.
0 miles.
Zero. ZERO.
Didn’t think I’d have one of those one this trip but here I am, lounging on the steps of my tiny 10×10 cabin at 2pm with nothing to do but a few errands.
I had a handful of things to do, mostly optional stuff like clean my phone and camera, try (and fail) to fix my leaking pillow, and find any open restaurant with vegan food (gas station Subway and local grill with fries).
We hit up the other gear shop in town and Jordan was able to get a new sun hoodie and sun gloves. Pretty sure his hand rash was made worse by the sun and not having adequate sun protection on them so he’s joining me as part of the sun glove mob.
We also sorted our food situation and with all the leftover stuff we had from the last section and the shorter alt we’re gonna take, we don’t actually need to buy anything here except some chips. I used the money I saved on my resupply to buy new shoes I’ll hopefully pick up in Tropic in a few days. I love the Altra King Mts I’ve been using but the right one is totally blown out already from my wide ass feet and humpback little toe. I couldn’t find another pair of Kings that wasn’t on Amazon so will be switching to the Lone Peak 5s. The 3.5s were my favorite shoes of all time ever but every subsequent version has been hot garbage. I have a pair of 5s at home I didn’t get to fully try out but they seemed okay the few miles I did run in them before the trip. The ones I ordered are my trademark fuego red so at least they’ll look good.
Got to talk to some friends and Kay again so that was nice. Mood wise I’m feeling way better. It’s nice to rest and lounge and not hike all day for a day. Kay also told me it’s okay for me to be out here and to take my time which I needed to hear. I’ve been in such a rush to get back home and it’s definitely soured some of the experience. Gonna try to actually be present and enjoy this hike moving. That’s not to say I’ve cured my depression overnight but I definitely feel better than I have in days.
I am a little disappointed to skip the previous section but at the same time fuck it. I’ve been thinking a lot about this route and how there is no THE Hayduke really. I mean there is an unofficial official route as outlined by the creators but almost no one does that exact route opting for so many of the alternates. It’s all so arbitrary, all made up.
I’m not that bummed about skipping sections or not having a continuous footpath since we were always going to have to hitch a ride across the Colorado in the Grand Canyon. It’s also not an official scenic trail or anything so there’s less incentive to do every available mile. And there’s so much more to do and see that I’m gonna have to come back anyway.
So this is not THE Hayduke but it is A Hayduke Trail, one that is entirely our own, which means we can do whatever the fuck we want. And that means we are gonna skip quite a few miles but maybe do a few extra too.
Plants Outside 