August 1st

I thought for sure I would wake up at first light but no, it was 6:30 when I opened my eyes. Slacker. Because of this it took me almost till 7:30 to get back on the trail. Before starting off I went back down to the spring and pond where I filled up on water. This must have been where the coyotes were cavorting last night at dusk, and again at 2:30am. That early morning event was spooky. Yikes.

The walking today has been as beautiful as yesterday. Unfortunately my IT bands are acting up and the downhills are slow going and kinda painful. This tells me another short day is in order. I'm currently having a rest/food break at highway 66. If I hike to Hyatt Lake Resort I'll arrive there in a couple of hours... around 2pm. Clearly I have time to hike more but I think I'd better stop and give my legs time to adjust. I hope this isn't an indicator of a long term trend. If so, I'll never get to Washington much less Canada.

First thing this morning I met a woman named Karen and her wonder dog Lola. Lola is a shelter dog and is quite a mishmash of whippet and some other stuff. This time of the year they come up to the mountains after work, stay the night then go hiking before going back to work the next morning. Seems like a nice life. Sorry to say their photograph is out of focus...

So I managed another chunk of trail today but find myself at Hyatt Lake Resort, first for lunch then I got attached to watching the Olympics so I got a cabin (with TV) for the night. I did get ten miles in but no more. Tomorrow all bets are off and no matter what I have to do 15+ miles daily. No more slacking. I hope my legs can tolerate the miles. Am I tough enough?