October 19th, 2024
Mile Marker: Gila Alternate
Miles Hiked: 15
Last night the rain turned into thick wet snow. It started to accumulate on my tent and I had flashbacks to night 4 in Glacier National Park when our tent collapsed under the weight. Full circle no? So I found myself paranoid it would happen again and constantly hit the snow off and eventually got out of my tent to wipe it all off. After an hour or so the snow turned back to rain and started melting some of the snow off of my tent. I finally felt like I could go to bed around midnight.
This morning was rather cold however we all woke easily around 6 AM to get up and out.
The ground still had snow covering it and we were glad our day started out with a climb. I was so thankful it wasn’t raining while we packed up.
We hiked quickly and came across more snow and crunchy ice patches.
The heavy clouds would occasionally part and we could see far into the distance. Sometimes we could also see the sun shining down on a different area and were wishing it was over us. We spent the morning talking about what we normally eat for breakfast in real life and our birthdays and how we tend to celebrate. It was enjoyable to chat to help take our minds off the climb and cold.
The higher we got, the more snow we walked through. We only took short small breaks and kept a steady pace. Some of the trail was overgrown with thorny bushes that we had to dip and duck around and would frequently snag our mid layer.
I found my feet becoming increasingly cold with every descent we took and the increasing snow we stepped through or bush we brushed. My trail socks are incredibly thin so it wasn’t a surprise.
I would try and stomp and wiggle my toes to keep the blood pumping. We finally made it to the end of the climb and ran into another hiker who was getting dropped off from going into the town of Reserve the night before to get out of the cold weather.
As we started down the descent on the gravel road, I felt a shooting pain in my glute. The same one that had been bothering me but nothing like this had happen before. It was as if it was cramping and would make me jolt in pain. Whatever said it looked like I was being stung by something.
I walked slow and we decided we would get to the water source and try to massage it out.
Our water source was another cow tank and spring but the water came out pretty clear compared to the source we pulled from yesterday.
While we had a snack, I stretched and tried to massage out my glute. Whatever was happening was not okay. Then the rain started and we needed to get moving.
Initially my glute didn’t hurt and then after 15 minutes or so, another jolt sent me limping for a couple steps. I was so frustrated. When it’s cold and rainy, this is the time that I needed to go fast to keep my heart rate up and stay warm.
I continued on, with every 5 minutes or so feeling a jolt of pain. I thought it may be cramping due to a lack of electrolytes so I tried my best to drink water with Propel even though I was already cold.
We walked for a while and I started to get nervous. I couldn’t keep my core warm hiking on a flat gravel road and I couldn’t hike fast enough because of my glute.
The sun would shine through occasionally and I would feel relief for a bit. Then another storm would roll through and cause the skies to get dark and unleash rain and winds.
Eventually I stopped under a tree and decided I would have to pull out my puffy jacket. This isn’t ideal because if it gets wet, it’s my only thick layer for camping at night and staying warm.
Whatever then offered his jacket as it is synthetic and will dry better if it gets wet. I took him up on this and as I am putting his jacket on. Whatever threw out a lazy thumb to an ATV that rolled past.
A man hopped out and asked us what we needed. We asked if he had water and would be able to take us further down the road. He said of course and was extremely friendly, claiming he had rescued some hunters earlier this morning and that there were 3 other hikers that had to go into Reserve after getting too cold.
Okay, it wasn’t just me. It was unexpectedly frigid.
We threw our bags in the back and hopped in. He took us about 4 miles down the road where his truck was parked and topped up our water and wished us well. We then looked ahead and saw a tower of rain coming towards us. I wanted to stay in that ATV for just a bit longer. To warm my core and wait out the rain.
We bundled up and headed down trail straight towards it. Thankfully we only got some wind and rain for a little while before it dissipated and we turned a different direction.
As we turned on a different road we decided to take a quick break in the trees to eat a lunch. We hid under the pine trees as the dark clouds rolled back through and it started raining again.
After a short break we continued down the road for a while and then a Game and Fish warden pulled over and rolled down his window. He gave us all a big dimply grin and asked how we were doing and if we were cold.
We said we were and that we would take a ride. It turns out he was the person who gave the other three hikers a ride into reserve. He moved some stuff around and had us hop in the truck as he cranked up the heat.
He was from this area and had his own camping gear all loaded in his truck. He claimed that after his shift he would go out camping himself.
He dropped us off 6 miles later around 3 PM at a big open area that was perfect to camp in. He wished us well and we tried to set up our camp quickly as the rain was starting again and we heard thunder in the background. This rain was relentless today.
We set up, got inside our tents, and got snug in our sleeping bags. My feet took two hours before they warmed up and as I laid down I realized that I was actually really tired and started to fall asleep.
Around 5 I started to do my normal at camp things and cleaned up the tent. The rain finally stopped and some blue skies started to show around 6. Finally. We made dinner and chatted about our plans for the next couple days.
It’s going to be cold but no rain so we will be okay. Dry cold is so much different than wet cold.
I don’t love hitching but at this point, I’m not going to risk hypothermia just to cover miles on a gravel road that looks the same from point A to point B. Plus, I gotta figure out this knot in my glute. Not sure what was happening today, but that was not fun.
Sleep time.
Iz and Oz
Izzy + Ozzy 