Day 5 - Campsite in boulders (mile 53) to Rodriguez Cross (mile 68)
Two complete days on my new insoles and still no improvement on the feet. If anything, they're worse, which only becomes more and more frustrating. Every morning the foot care routine eats up about 45 minutes before we get out of camp, every break is consumed with tending to the feet, and every time we roll into camp it's priority #1. Still, every step I take is pretty excruciating. These stupid New Balance shoes have GOT to go. On top of the blisters, my feet just generally hurt. So frustrating!
Today was also the hottest, most hard-core desert hiking yet. There was absolutely zero shade, very little water (necessitating carrying 4 liters/person...at 2.2 lbs. per liter...that's an added weight that becomes tough to carry!), and the mercury hit 100! To boot, I passed a GIANT rattler on the trail - could hear it rattling away from a ways down the trail - it was angry. Brett thinks I got some minor sun stroke. I wasn't very hungry due to the heat, and didn't eat or drink enough throughout the day, and then I couldn't find shade when I needed it. Finally gave up looking for a nice shady spot and just scrambled up the hill and crawled under a shrub for some shade. I drank a liter of water and just hung out for an hour or so, and eventually got up for the last 3.5 miles into camp at Rodriguez Cross, which held the promise of water (yayyy). It's not the prettiest campsite ever, but I'm so tired I don't much care.
After the misery of today's mid-day heat, we're changing the strategy for tomorrow. Going to attempt an early start (4am hopefully) to beat the heat. Getting going at 9am today, it was already 85 - way too hot that early! Rumor has it the weather is supposed to cool off, but we also enter a very long stretch without any water, so we'll have to be prepared when leaving Scissors Crossing at mile 77. Fingers crossed for cooler weather and healthy feet!
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