Desolation Wilderness

I’m back on the trail after an impossibly short week visit home. A couple of observations:

1. Time accelerates when you’re off the trail.

2. It is depressingly easy to regain weight when you bring home a 20 mile a day appetite without doing any actual hiking. Worse, really, since on the trail you’re limited by what’s in your pack and at home your limited by… nothing at all.

Wife: Did you regain any weight yet?

Me (shoving fist fulls of Chips-a-hoy in my mouth): SNARFLEgulpBLERG?

Wife: You know I bought those for the kids, right?

So I’ll need an actual plan when I finish this hike. Eternally through hiking is probably not a viable option.

Fortunately, the Desolation Wilderness mosquitoes held a welcome back party for me with an extensive guest list. Everyone showed up. To compensate, yesterday was the best trail magic of the trip, with an incredible spread of hiker favorites. We’re now starting to see routine afternoon thunderstorms, which I largely missed in the Sierras.

Mileage is now a significant concern. I did 12 miles on my afternoon back (after 2 plane rides, a shuttle ride, and a car ride back to the trail), 23 miles yesterday, and a new PR of 25.7 miles today, bringing me to Donner Ski Ranch. I broke down and bought some Superfeet orthotics, to early to tell if they helping much. Regardless, my feet are still protesting anything over 20.

So I’m feeling a mite sluggish after talking a week off. Let’s see if I can get my mojo back.