i think i need a new hobby

fave 14er w my fave gal

day 92

day 91

day 90

you like that? you like that?!

the fifty mile fiasco:
long story short i raw dogged this whole thing. let me explain. i awoke around 1 am in my hammock… wet and cold. i don’t carry a rain fly to cut pack weight, and the first and only night it rains hard enough to get through the trees’ pine needles is the night before i plan to hike 50 miles. i managed to get a bit over four hours of sleep—wet, cold sleep—before my alarm went off at 03:14. vying for the warmth of hiking, i packed up and left. it seems 4am starts feel best after a lack of sleep. 7 miles of dark, wind, and rain later i began my main climb of the day. i de-rainsuited at this point and kept trucking. the clouds hadn’t broke but the rain was gone at least. 7 more miles of climbing later i decided to put on some tunes. my phone was at a whopping 8% battery life when i left camp, so i went to charge it. no dice. my portable battery pack was soaked and out of juice entirely. phone was now at 3%. i quickly checked how many miles until the top of my climb and until the known Olallie lake resort. 4.5 and 14.5 miles respectively. i trudged along. no music. no audiobook. just myself and the inclement weather… and my brain. many miles and some hours later it was 13:40 and i was 30 miles into my day. Olallie lake resort. time for comfort. i had to take a longer break than intended. a quick beer break turned into a dry my gear and charge my phone andddd drink beer break. almost 2 hours after my gear was 90% dry and phone was 39% charged. also in this time, i had two beers and conversed with hobbs and skip, two nobo thru hikers enjoying the afternoon sun. a solid break and a true turning point of the day. no auditory content still to save battery for my maps thus the whole day raw dogged. i did manage three photos though that you see posted here. anyway… 20 fortunately uneventful miles later i hit the mark. 50 miles done and i was asleep in a dry hammock before 22:00. murphy gave it all he could, but mr. murphy is no match for me.

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Ethan Ball

day 91

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i think i need a new hobby

fave 14er w my fave gal

day 92

day 91

day 90

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