Postholing

Everyone has off days and today was mine.  It started off good.  We had a big climb to 12,100 feet and I felt fine.  It's so beautiful I had to keep stopping to get a picture.  

But after our mid morning break I began having sharp stomach cramps.  Even after they went away I couldn't quite bring back the good.  It was slow going and it felt like we were fighting for every mile.  First there were a couple challenging stream crossings, then a lot of blown down trees, and finally the snow.

 When we weren't post holing we were walking through a swamp of snow melt.  We finally got to a long enough stretch of snow we could strap on the snowshoes.

 That was fun but still hard work.  We saw a lot of beautiful lakes and ponds and could hear pica in the rocks.

 As hard of a day as it's been, it's still pretty awesome up here.  Our mileage dropped down to 18 which is better than expected.  We had planned 15 mile days knowing it was going to be slow.  I'm getting more comfortable with being off trail.  We've been off trail most of the day because of the snow.  Wow.  Happy to be cozy in my tent with my tummy full from my hot dinner.  I'm also very happy for my fleece pants that I finally got in the mail.  They are nice and warm!