If every day of hiking was like this, Hiking and I might have a chance at a beautiful relationship.
Packing up camp this morning was smooth and not too cold. The scenery was beautiful. The terrain was challenging in the best of ways. And, best of all, nothing, absolutely nothing, on my body hurts. I feel amazing, actually. There was a significant uphill pretty early on that got my heart really pumping and filled me with endorphins. I felt like I do after a good run or a good HIIT workout - invincible and ready to conquer the world. :). The shitty, steep, rocky downhill on the way to the Gila River didn’t even piss me off, and that’s saying something.
I waited for Nick at a river (which turned out not to be the Gila yet) with Bodhi, Cody, and Mr. Fabulous. It was the perfect place for a lunch break and I enjoyed chatting with them. (Fun fact: Bodhi and Cody work in Antarctica part of the year!!!) It’s too bad that spot was only 12 miles into our day because it would have been a great place to camp. I soaked my feet in the cool water, rinsed off my dusty legs, and seriously contemplated taking a little dip. The only thing that stopped me was the cold breeze and the lack of a suitable place to sit in the sun to dry off.
Nick was about 30 minutes behind me and, even though he isn’t really saying anything, I can tell he’s hurting a little. I’m guessing his achilles and his ankle for sure, but he doesn’t want to tell me because “that’s like admitting a weakness”. That right there is why it can be demoralizing to hike with him - he always acts like everything is fine, which sometimes makes me feel like I’m doing something wrong when I don’t feel great (hence the need for girl time every now and then - girls usually don’t feel the need to pretend like everything is great). At the same time, however, I love his calm, stoic nature. Plus, he’s an excellent husband and hiking partner, so I guess I’ll keep him. :)
After lunch, we came upon the Gila River.
my first view of the Gila - don’t worry, it won’t be my last
I knew that we’d be crossing the Gila a lot in the coming days, but I didn’t realize we’d be crossing it a lot TODAY. Wanting to keep my feet as dry as possible - I mean, they’re finally free of blisters! - I contemplated taking off my shoes and socks to cross. But the water was too deep and the bottom was too rocky for that. Plus, Nick informed me that we’d be crossing it again soon.
I still didn’t quite comprehend just how many times we’d have to cross the river, so I compromised by wearing my shoes but taking off my socks and removing the shoe inserts. At first, this seemed like a good strategy, as I would be able to put on the dry socks and dry inserts after we finished crossing. However, we just kept crossing that river! After the fourth crossing, it dawned on me that I was going to have to suck it up and walk in wet shoes and socks. Since there would never be a time when we wouldn’t be crossing the river, I realized walking barefoot in shoes without inserts for miles and miles would probably be just as bad (or worse) for my feet as walking in wet everything.
So I put the inserts back in, put on my socks and shoes, and proceeded to cross the river a few more times. It’s not ideal but it’s all I can do. It makes this feel like more of an adventure, anyway. At least the cool water feels great on my legs and feet.
After we hit 15 miles, Nick started to look for a place to camp. I could have easily hiked further, but I know what it’s like to be hurting (even if he won’t admit it) and told Nick he could choose when to stop for the day. We found a beautiful little spot next to the river that had some grass and called it good. I’m excited to fall asleep to the sound of the rushing river tonight.
Along the trail:
Camp:
