May 10 Day 16 En Route to Pie Town

It got down into the freezing temperatures again last night.  I kept my shoes and stuff closer to the tent and under the rain fly so they wouldn't freeze.  Shortly after stepping out of my tent, my heart started pounding hard. It happens sometimes and I figured it would just subside in a few minutes, but it didn't.  It started to worry me.  I figured I was having an anxiety attack or something so I practiced some breathing exercises and calming phrases.  It didn't help.  We had a big climb this morning and I didn't know how I would fare.  I finally mentioned it to Ratna and Wide-Angle and he said it sounded like I was having a bad reaction to the elevation as we were near 9,000 ft.  We did the climb and it was pretty awful.  I had to take it really slowly and took many breaks.  I figured having my period was also screwing with my system.

When we got to the top of the ascent, I couldn't talk to them or really do anything.  I just sat there and ate some food and drank some water hoping that would help the situation.  I guess my not eating a substantial enough breakfast played a part in my suffering, obviously, because I felt perfectly normal after that break.  Ratna shared some of her food with me since I was rationing my resources at this point.  Note to self: always pack more food than you think you could ever eat!

(Follow the cairns to find the trail. This one was a bit ridiculously huge)

Once we got going again life was good.  I was moving quickly and we had some good clear times on trail.  Other times the trail would just vanish.  We had read Wired's blog beforehand and knew this section would be a bit tricky with the trail appearing and disappearing, so mentally we were prepared. When we got up to an exposed part of the Divide, Wide-angle got reception on his Verizon Wireless Hotspot, so he let me Skype my mom for Mother's Day!  What a treat! She was very excited to get a call from me on top of a mountain.  He also called his mom while up there and we all headed down through some serious blow down area.  

(Getting reception)

Once we got down the mountain we would be going up and down a lot and along ridges, so I played Queen and rocked out to the trail.  It was one of my favorite days and I really enjoyed this section of trail.

(Our water source for the day. A "tank" aka a dug out pond for cows)

Up on the divide we were again when the evil clouds started to move closer and closer.  Their dark shade of grey was not encouraging and we were prepared to set up camp if it started raining due to the already frigid temperatures.  When the cloud moved over us, we braced for the worst only to be dusted with fine snowfall.  What a fun and pleasant surprise.  Light snow we could handle, and so we walked on to lower ground.

(Dark clouds on the Divide)

We did about 21 or 22 miles today, camping between two blazes carved into trees.  It is a beautiful forested area covered in pine needles and mossy rocks.  I hope for a warmer night tonight.