Embrace the Brutality

I got my first taste of what "Embrace the Brutality" on the CDT means.  At first the trail was dirt road or track and wound through Sheridan Canyon.  It was easy walking and the canyon offered some shade from the rising sun.  After exiting the canyon we filled up our water bottles at the cache left by the CDTA and then the fun began.  It was cross country time!  Up on the hillside the trail paralleled the Hatchett mountains.  We hiked from cairn to cairn.  It was rocky, ankle twisting, dusty, cactus strewn terrain.  And we had to go in and out of washes.  Dust from the sand saturated the air and the wind blew it into everything.  There was no shade.  And then just when we'd about had enough we found delicious shade in a deep wash.  We sat out the rest of the afternoon there and hiked on in the evening.  We decided to drop down to a dirt road which paralleled the trail for faster hiking and safety.  Nick had stepped on a cactus and his foot was hurting.  I developed a head cold of sorts with accompanying sore throat and nausea so I decided to stop and camp for the night.  The rest of the gang pushed on to camp at the next cache.  They were short on water.  It feels good to relax in my tent.  I hope I feel better in the morning.  The plan is for me to get up early and catch up to them at the next water cache.