Day 15 (117)

Miles: 26.4

Mileage: 2417.3

We woke up at our normal hiking time rather than our we’re-in-a-hotel-let’s-sleep-in time. We knew there were many miles and considerable climbs ahead of us.

The first ten miles went well. I felt strong and moved well up the valley. Then came the wall.

Despite eating and drinking regularly, each step became a challenge. It was warming up again, so that probably contributed, but I think the real culprit was not eating enough on the zero.

Rather than storing up calories and trying to make a dent in the deficit I have, I ate like a non-hiker and only had about 2,000 calories. Not good enough, apparently.

After covering about 15 miles — and finishing the bulk of the climbing — we found a shady spot and I ate another 500 calories.

Then came a nice long downhill, a break to refill water and then we were on the hot, valley floor.

The last part of the day was a climb up through towering pines to an exposed ridge where we slept in view of hanging glaciers. The moon was so bright, it was like sleeping with a light on.