The Lookout 9Aug05 Day 54

Some where south of Wintturi Shelter.

Although I have some blistering on my feet, today was a good day. I switched out to my crocs just to give my feet some rest. I did get trail magic in the form of a cooler filled with cold sodas. There were also chocolate bars available for snacking on. It came at just the right point as I had crossed a somewhat large open field in full sun. So I was very hot and thirsty. I also crossed a field with cows in it. Shortly thereafter I saw a turkey and once I got to the lookout, I caught an excellent sunset. The lookout is a small cabin with a viewing platform on the roof that offers 360 degree viewing. Except for a few trees impeding the sunset it was worth the hike up. Since there is no water here, I hulled up 4L of water which equates to about 8lbs of extra weight on top of my alsmost 30lbs. Although I was packing more weight, I felt good and was moving quite well. I could feel my shoulders starting to ache but I only had to go 2.6 miles.

The last 70-80 miles have been quite dry. Many of the streams that feed the shelters are either mud puddles or are just slow trickles of water. There have been some nice streams but they are close to roads which means no camping. I am not sure it htere is a drought in the area or not but it makes for somewhat unreliable water sources. I have heard this is something we will have to sontend with in the south.