Date: 2020-08-26
From: Hyatt Lake Horse Camp

To: Brown Mt Shelter
Miles today: 19.1
Weather: few clouds

How to Hike a 19 Mile DaySo, if you're here reading this you probably know that sometimes I make questionable choices on trail. This morning I decided to try to get to the only shelter in the Southern Oregon portion - 19 miles from my then current location. This was in part because I wanted to stay at pace with the ladies from the first night. In part because I really wanted to stay at the shelter site (hi, hello, PCT, could you please add shelters and privies like the AT, thanks). And in part because that would put me thru a stretch of basically no water and I really dislike dry camping. (Dry camping = staying somewhere without water nearby)SO...because I actually got up early (for me) and was back on trail by 7:45, I decided to give it a whirl. My knee was being questionable so I KT taped as best I could from their very basic instruction packet (no internet), and told myself that I'll get as far as I can get. Now, you already know how this ends because, well...I told you I did it in the title. But there is so much more to it than that!Have you ever run cross country? I didn't. But my best friends in elementary school and I used to practice with them to stay in shape for basketball. It was awful. But it did teach me to set manageable goals. Back then it was "let's just get to that fence post. OK, now to that building. OK, now to that tree." In hiking, there is an App that we use that is an offline map with waypoints. As long as your GPS is on, you can see how far away things are. And how much elevation gain/loss you will have. So today, I decided to test out my body on the first 5 miles to a hiker friendly campground where I could have a midmorning snack, some good water, and a bathroom. If I could make it there in 2 hours, it was game on for the day. Well that happened. And so then I just started setting a clock for myself. At about 2, i got to a spring that was supposed to have reliable water. Well...it's late August and Oregon is super dry, sooooo more like a seeping puddle. Not my idea of fun. Re-enter Brown Mt Shelter. With a water spigot. It must be filtered but it is cold and plentiful. If you read back over the last few months of comments in Guthooks, you would also see that there has been some trouble with the spigot handle going missing. So, at this point, I start conserving water. I decide I MUST make it the last 8 miles to the shelter and I also must be prepared for an outcome in which it is not there and I must cry a river of tears to sustain myself.I think it was around mile 14 when I ran into an older man hiking SOBO. I tried to ask him about the shelter. It came out as not a sentence. I asked if he knew about water at the shelter. He said "No, I decided to bypass it." I wanted to yell at him "What?!? Why?!? Are you an idiot? Do you have magic water pellets?!?" I did not say any of that. He offered that he'd heard the water was working and he passed 2 women heading there. And that he was going to the spring. I told him the spring was a puddle and wished him luck. Maybe a mile later, I saw a large brown animal coming toward me. Startled for a second, I then realized it was a friendly dog off leash who came to say hi. It's owner and I talked for a bit. When I mentioned I was headed to the shelter and worried about the water working, she said that she'd heard 2 or 3 days ago that it was. Her other dog, older and slower, leaned on my legs and then also walked between my legs as of it were saying "just sit down. I'll carry you." This may have been when I realized I should drink some of my stashed liter of still unopened Smart water. I parted ways with the woman and dogs and was now determined that this day would be worth it. I had around 4 miles left, mostly flat. There was 1 road roughly halfway in-between. After crossing that road, the last 1.5 miles went on forever. Were you reading during my last AT trip when I said I think anything over 20 miles just hurts? Well when it's your 3rd day on trail and you're pushing 20 miles, it feels like you're already at 25. When I saw the sign for the shelter, I could have screamed for joy. I could feel equally all 4 blisters that had been developing over the course of the day. Though strangely my knee was only tired, not throbbing with pain.When I walked up the path, I saw the two ladies from the first night. They were equally happy to see me. I said "Please tell me the water works". The woman I now know goes by Post said "Yes. It is excellent. We will help you to fill up when you're ready." I promptly gulped down the last of my Smart Water and went about my setup routine. All was right in the world.So - the answer to the question: how do you hike a 19 mile day?Put the ONLY GOOD WATER at the end. It's like a carrot. But better.Side note: had a lovely dinner with Post and Pegleg. We have very similar goals until I jump off at Willamette Pass. Also a deer was munching on plants very nearby during the entire time we ate. I bet she was like "Psshhh...ONLY 19 miles? ...amateurs"Tomorrow: Less miles, more shower.