August 11, 2013

August 11, 2013
9 miles outside South Pass City to Sweetwater River
~24 miles

The morning miles were fairly easy and passed relatively quickly. I ran into an older gentleman out for a walk and talked with him for a while, answering some questions about the hike, before going on my way. I wanted to be rude and tell him I urgently wanted to get to town, but really there was no hurry so I stayed as long as he wanted to talk.

Once in South Pass City (barely even a town) I proceeded to the general store/post office to pickup my packages. This maildrop was particularly exciting because I received a care package from my friend who I hiked with for 2200 miles of the PCT! There were some I interesting items in the box which made for a nice surprise. In fact I enjoyed a trail cocktail tonight courtesy of 12 Oz. Prost: to happy hour no matter where you are! Also arriving today was an iPod. Mine has sadly seen better days and can now only charge halfway and be activated via voice control. I look forward to a variety I music and audiobooks now that I have some new tunes!

While in South Pass City, while charging my devices at the store I ended up taking a tour of the Carissa Mine, which is the reason the town was established in the first place. It was Fun to learn about the history of the place and see how the mine used to run. The mine itself was 45 stories deep, although the majority of that is under water at the current time.

After a good 5.5 hours in "town" I finally made my way back out to the trail. This stretch is going to be a dry one so I wanted to make it to the next reliable water by nightfall to cook dinner. It was pretty easy hiking along a road for the most part, and with the new tunes and stories to listen to I was a happy hiker. I got ti my destination and set up my tent around 8:45 just as light was starting to fade from the sky. it was the first night on the trail that I had to eat my dinner by headlamp light. Such is life on trail, I'm sure there will be many more in my future as the daylight hours continue to wane.

Looks like some hot and dry hiking the next couple days so I may be getting an early start in the morning. Buenos noches!


Alex