Miles Today: 16.7
Mile Marker: 823.4 Spy Rock
This morning started with an immediate uphill climb. My pack was full with a 3.5 day resupply and extra water to get started. I was immediately shocked by how much harder it is to hike with a full pack. 800 miles with a full pack and it only took one day of slack packing to forget. Once I got to the top, the rest of the day was nice. It was incredibly hot, but there were excellent views.
Initially I was planning on doing a 15 mile day and camping with Cheese and his brother Einstein. I stopped there and made dinner, but decided I'd like to move on. The camp spot was positioned in a bit of a dark valley. Right now with the weather being so hot, I'd prefer to camp higher up with more air flow. Additionally the bugs are coming out, and the wind keeps them away. I hiked further in and ran into Green Beard who had just woken up from a three hour nap through the heat of the day. He was going to do a bit of night hiking and then crash for the night. Once I got to the top of the hill I found Walkman, Cash, Songbird, Hamilton, Rocket, and Tea Leaves camped near Spy Rock. They said it is a bit of a rock scramble, but it's worth the view. I dropped my pack and climbed up. Definitely worth the view. I came back down and set up camp with them. Perfect campsites of soft green grass and a steady breeze.