Day 8: mile 83.1

Its day 8 and so much has happened!

First of all, its just Jenni and I hiking now. It has been kind of nice to get into a rhythm and not eat so many cheese curds.

Saying goodbye to Sean and Brian... Awww 

Our first day out alone we hiked about 11 miles and were rescued from a lightening storm by some trail angels, who also sent us on our way the next morning with what may be considered the 'world's best omlet' in our bellies. Awesome! My toe is still messed up. I have a string through the blister now to keep it open and draining. I can walk pretty good. Except the second day, while starting in the McKenzie segment, stubbed it. Even though I was walking very slow. I just remember seeing white light and I heard what sounded like a horse winny... But it was just me making a high-pitched noise. Funny thing is, about 10 steps before that I tripped with my other foot and thought, "thank goodness that wasn't my bad toe!" The trail was extremely wet, so I was very thankful for my gortex shoes. Why did I not stick with these from the get go!?? I would like to believe that my messed up feet did inspire Jenni to start her new facebook thru hiker feet fetish page though, what can I say, I'm a muse. ;) (no idea if my feet inspired that) 

Getting to see a lot of wildlife. Flushed some sandhill cranes, a beaver, swans, all sorts of birds, deer, lots of grass snakes, frogs, heard great horned owls and coyotes, and as always... What I now refer to as 'the cockroach of the woods... Ticks."

The bloodsucking, no good, should not be allowed to live on this planet ticks and mosquitoes are soooo thick. The tail end of the McKenzie segment was just straight up swamp.  I basically ran through the woods without realizing it. I would get up a hill huffing and puffing to get out of swampy lower areas... Then gingerly go downhill (hurts my toe) to run up... And with all this time I had plenty to think about when it comes to bug repellent. I came prepared with the following versions: 

Here are my thoughts on these. I first put on the wrist band... This would probably have been effective at a kids soccor game held in a desert. Then I had bought an all natural repellent, which is infused with Lemongrass. Its the best smelling stuff ever so I was basically using it as a perfume (I don't have deoderant with me... And I would definitely be considered the smelly kid in class) as well as a repellent, but it didn't help with the mosquitoes in the woods. It would work at a kids soccor game because maybe the mosquito would go to the next fully unprotected kid. So then I went with the chemical path and spayed the repellent containing Deet, and I tell you... I sprayed it like I just didn't care! To include the immediate air vicinity around me. Voila, I went from a waking meal to a pedestrian going for a nice walk in the woods. I now carry only one and got rid of the weight. I tried to be natural and healthy, I did... But if I were Goldilocks and the repellents were like the bear's beds, only one was just right. 

Check out that packless back. Heaven!

Jenni and I got to slack pack for a bit two times now. Slack packing is when your bags are dropped at a location you will pass, so you get to hike without them until that point. The first time we got a little less than two glorious pack-free miles. The second time we got close to eight!!! Yes!!!! Some may call it cheating, I call it 'best ever'!! At the place we left our bags the first time though, we did find this box

on the ground... So maybe it is just a spot for cheaters ;) the second place we left our bags was at Brickyard Pottery. An awesome store!

Jenni and I camped and it got down to the high 30s at night. We got on the trail pretty early since we would warm up

walking.

Yummy beef stew

Im not much of a breakfast person, but here was my supper. The meal that wasn't yummy was

Disgusting cheese starch goop

tonight's.... It was Knor noodle mush that I could not stomach so dug a hole and burried it. YUCK!



Today Jenni and I didn't get lost at all. There was one day where I did a 'white blaze' trail for about a mile which are side trails, but this one met up with the yellow blaze and had both and white paintings so I called it good. I'm not a purist as they say, where I feel the need to do every step ON the trail. If I get off of it for a little bit to pee, or food or a white blaze that ends in the same spot, I feel just fine with that. Jenni is a purist ;) don't worry... No intragroup turmoil about it.

With that said, I love

seeing those yellow blazes. They have become very beautiful to me.  Your stomach kind of sinks when you haven't see one in a while.

Skeletons are everywhere...

Litterally camping on the trail

Found a new pack of soggy smokes, would rather have the $7.10

Trail went into the lake... We lost two oxen and got disentary... May not make it to Oregon

Jenni going the extra mile for a photo... Soaked her feet for a flower ;)

 What's this birch so bent out of shape about?? Bud dum dum.

Trilliums in full force!

That was a swampy segment... Here I'm listening to the ruffed grouse drum

"Life is short, and full of blisters." - African American proverb