River Road (1,210 feet) mile 1709.7 Winturri Shelter (1,932 feet) mile 1724 for a 14.3 mile day.

Not much of a day today except climbing, lots of climbing! We started the day climbing 1,327 feet at a grade of 810 feet per mile!! It was a climb that just didn’t stop. But, when it did finally stop, I stopped too so I could drink some water. It’s hard drinking water climbing up a mountain like that. It was one of those days where we got to the top and then it went down a short distance and then it went up again, and then up again! We finally made it to the top top and then, you guessed it, we headed right back down again to a stream. There was enough water on trail today that I was able to drink 4 liters of water throughout the day.

After the water, we turned right back up again. We climbed another 1,990 feet in 5.4 miles, so it was a little easier but still a climb at 557 feet per mile.

From here we started down hill and came to a cliff that we had to get down, but, don’t fear, we had a ladder!

We kept on from here and made it to the shelter for the night around 3:50 or so. It made for a long evening, but it wasn’t too bad, other hikers showed up. I had some yummy dehydrated gumbo for dinner tonight! Trail gumbo always makes this better!! Now, it’s time for bed at 8:15! Trail midnight is at 8:30.

Oh, the remnants of a hurricane will be awaiting us in the morning. The weather is calling for rain all day tomorrow. I’m praying we get spared!!

Puppy Love, out!