A plastic chair has decided to hitch a ride with me.
Once our bellies were full again, we readied ourselves for the walk du jour. Our goal was Rosalie Lake, 8.6 miles. We would climb from 7600 feet to 9350 feet.
My pack was heavy with a full bear can of food. I had some new food to try this trip. Some of it worked and some didn't. I had stove top stuffing with cranberries, walnuts and gravy for a few breakfasts and really liked that. Another new addition was dark chocolate- LOVE! Didn't melt and was great for pick-me-ups during the day and a nice treat in the evening. I also had Halva bars which I hated! It was like eating a crumbly powder. Gross. I also didn't like the little mini sausages and cheeses. Man, I choked those down out of necessity but they sat in my stomach like a ton of rocks.
Devils Postpile
The climb out of Red's Meadow is so pretty. Deep forests and running creeks. Hot and muggy again. There were times where it felt like I was walking through pea soup, the air was so thick. One step in front of the other, painfully, woefully slow. I thought of my legs like pistons, just cranking out the steps.
Break time!
Water sources started dwindling and seasonal creeks were dry so we had to filter water from a shallow, algae filled puddle of water. Mmmmm, fresh mountain water!
As we were filtering water at this delicious spot, a girl wearing a tutu walked up. Hello, I love your tutu, I said! She started talking about all the hiking she's done and I asked her if she had a trail name. I can't remember what it was- Fifty Pop or something along those lines. Named after some fish species. Her family came walking up then and we talked a bit. There were 7 or 8 of them. They were henceforth known as Tutu Family or Tutu Girl. We would leap frog with them all the way to the end.
I pulled my umbrella out for the first time on this day. What kind of sweet pleasure is this?! And why haven't I been using this on previous days? It cut down on the heat so much I couldn't believe it! I attached it to my sternum strap so I could go hands free and still use my trekking poles. What joy! What relief!
We stopped to take a break and I had been having some weird stomach and back pain issues. When I went pee, it hurt like a mother. Shit, I said out loud, shit! It actually took a little for the pain to subside- it felt deeply internal. I stood on the side of the trail breathing through it then sat heavily on a log. Tutu Family came by and chatted some. I couldn't engage though because my mind was swirling with thoughts of urinary tract and kidney infections. Just calm down, I told myself. If there is still pain by bedtime, start the Cipro. I carry antibiotics for UTI and sinus infections as well as an anti-fungal so I had that safety net. I increased water and electrolyte intake throughout the day and didn't have any further problems. Phew.
We made it to Rosalie Lake. So beautiful!
I was so tired, I straight laid down on my sleeping pad before setting up my tent. Savasana- Dead Pose.
There was a crap ton of people (as far as wilderness standards) at Rosalie Lake. We had people camping all around us and could hear them talking and laughing. We had 3 fishing dudes right next to us who we thought were going to be an issue. The only issues were that they had a campfire (not allowed) and I could hear them talking loud at about 3:30am (assuming they got up early to fish).
Loved Rosalie Lake. Wonderful, gorgeous spot.
Positive Thought
My dear friend, clear your mind of can't. ~Samuel Johnson
No comments:
Post a Comment