454 miles in

I'll be honest, this trail has been anything but easy so far. The weather in particular has made it difficult. I expected extremes heat but instead it's been cold. Cold is one thing but it's also been extremely windy.

A few nights ago I was set up at a trailhead. After dark the wind kicked up and became stronger. At midnight my tent came down. I could hear the wind gusts coming through the tree tops before it hit me. Staying put wasn't an option so I had to pack up everything which took a long time because of the wind. I moved to the other side of the parking lot and slept in front of the concrete outhouse which was the only place that protected from the wind. Needless to say it was a rough day following.

Two days ago when woke I was on a mountain top and thought it chilly but wasn't sure if I was just exhaustion and reduced body fat making me wimpy. Not long after when it started to flurry I knew it really was chilly. Later on thunder clouds built and it began to rain. Keep in mind that I'm in the desert and this is extremely rare for this time of year. There was a continued mix of snow and rain, but my frustration grew when the trail lead up and over a bald peak while the thunder grew in frequency all around.

I was determined to get down in elevation by the end of the day no matter what it took. I'd had enough of the wind, cold, and wet over the past few days. I did a total of 26 miles that day to insure that I was down to 2600 feet by the time I set up camp in a burned out section of trail. The following day I was grateful that I had dropped in elevation. As the day dawned cloudy once more I looked back from where I'd come to see the clouds hanging low and heavy on the mountain tops and lots of precipitation soaking them. Hikers that came in behind me showed me digital photos of inches of snow that fell on them.

However, took my first zero-mile day yesterday since mile 100. I spent the day with a good friend from off-trail and it was relaxing and rejuvenating. I bought new pair of shoes in hopes that my knees and feet survive the long days a bit better. I'm nervous that they may cause more blisters, but that's a risk that comes with changing shoes.

I'm at a hiker hostel today and I'm going to take my time getting out. It's still cloudy and cold, but the weather is supposed to improve later in the week.