Woke up to 35 degrees. Brrr. Got packed up quickly and hit the trail in shorts, long sleeve shirt and fleece jacket. I’d eat breakfast after I warmed up a little. Which I knew wouldn’t take very long with the two major climbs ahead of me – one was 4 miles long and the other 2 miles and both were steep and relentless.

About a mile in, just when I was ready to take my jacket off, I spotted an unopened can of V8 Juice sitting on a rock on the trail. TRAIL MAGIC!!! Someone left it there for a veggie-deprived thru-hiker! I thought back. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had any measurable amount of vegetables. So, even though I wasn’t a big fan of V8 Juice, I chugged the entire can standing right there and stuck the empty can in the side pocket of my pack. Yum! Never thought I’d EVER say that about V8 Juice! Thank you trail angel, whoever you were!

I continued at a snail’s pace up and over both mountains. I started bonking at about mile 10. This altitude was still getting to me. I shoved my ear phones in and played some tunes on the iPod to help pick me up. Got to mile 11.8, the first potential campsite for the night. Wasn’t overly appealing. Not very flat. I continued on. The next one was at 15.2. At 12.5 I really hit the wall. I took my pack off and tried to think clearly. Go back to 11.8 or continue on 2.5 miles. I thought maybe some sugar would help so I drank a trail shake (basically Carnation Instant breakfast, NIDO powerded milk, and pudding mix). I slogged through and finally reached the 15.2 campsite. Much nicer than the last. I set up camp and laid down for a while hoping that would make me feel better. No such luck.

I debated about eating supper. I really didn’t have an appetite. Decided to make a Knorr noodle packet mix. The more I ate, the better I felt. Got most of it down. Cassie cleaned up the rest for me. Into bed to rest up for an even steeper climb tomorrow. But looking forward to a shower and clean clothes tomorrow night in Buena Vista!