Day 2. Sunday, June 21, 2009. PCT mileage: 717.6 – 731.6 (14 miles)

The heavy discomfort that builds in the legs from this kind of consistent exertion is almost entirely mitigated by the satisfaction I obtain from the strength in the movement. Sometimes I feel like a horse that pushes forward without hesitation, proving with each step that she will keep moving through the muscular tension.

I slept very cold last night, particularly my toes, and strangely my butt was freezing. Once it was late enough to not feel like a jerk waking Jess, I was up and moving to get warm. It was another cloudless, blue sky day. The second half of the morning was a steady ascent to a tremendous Southern Sierras view of snow-capped peaks. The vastness of the landscape punctuated with views from higher and higher perspectives was exhilarating! The altitude (10,500 ft) was noticeable in that I found myself stopping to slow my breathing a few times. We could supposedly see Mount Whitney in the distance, but we aren’t sure if we are looking at the right peak.
The downhill today did not hurt my knees but Jess mentioned that it was slightly painful for her. The mosquitoes are out, so finding break spots and camp sites without their swarming is essential to a good mood. Water has been plentiful enough so far. I haven’t hit that hiking, mental zone that I love to access while walking. I’m mostly thinking about mileage (the numbers obsessed part of me feeds off this aspect of long distance hiking) and singing to myself (today’s rotation included The Dirty Projectors’ Knotty Pine). We camped about .3 miles past Death Canyon Creek in a nook of the white rock canyon, which reflected spectacular yellows and pinks at sunset.