Day 35 – Low Morning High

June 12
Morris Peak to Fox Mill Spring
Mile 656.9 – Mile 683.2

“Out here the days are long and the nights are lonely, I think of you and I’m working on a dream” – Bruce Springsteen

I was not feeling it this morning and I’m not just talking about my hands and fingers. It was another cold, windy night but I was better off for having pitched my tent in a more sheltered spot. I was questioning whether I wanted to keep doing this, getting up with the sun and walking the windy, cold trail.

Guess what? The trail didn’t care one way or the other so I did the only two things I could think might help. Keep walking was the first and the second was another reach for Brother Bruce. His songs have a way of seeming like they were written specifically for you and a particular situation. I experienced a rock and roll exorcism and dropping down below the frigid clouds boiling over the ridges also helped.

The cold front that had been blowing for past several days seemed to be tapering off and I was glad to get lower to warm up when the sun broke through.

I did a longer day today to position myself within striking distance of Kennedy Meadows, marking the end of the desert and the beginning of the Sierras.

Truth be told, the second half of today felt less like desert and more like foothills with more green and bigger trees.
Sometime this morning I also earned the right to say I’ve walked 25% of the way to Canada. The cleverest of you will have already noticed but there’s a secret embedded in this blog’s logo that pertains to today’s achievement. Anyone get it?

Tomorrow I have an early climb over 8000 feet and a total of about 19 miles to complete Section E.