July 16th, 2016
Miles Hiked: 26
Start Location: Mile 1284
End Location: Mile 1310
End Location GPS: 40.15263, -121.43745
We both had a horrible nights sleep as the room we were in was unbearably hot most of the night. Even with the windows open there was no breeze and the tropical like air remained entombed within our small dwelling, making us toss and turn and wish we were in the Arctic circle instead of in this oven.
I got maybe a few hours of sleep and then the alarm buzzed. Mrs. Braaten drove us to the trail for a 6 AM start. What lay before us was a 14 mile climb that ascended 5000 feet. It took us until 2 to reach the top and it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.
We pushed harder in the afternoon so we would have a shorter day tommorrow to go into the town of Chester. It’s been a long time since we stayed in a hotel room so we are definately doing that tommorrow night. AC, shower, laundry, a warm bed and restaurant food is all I want right now.
