And today is the day my body…and the trail…tells me to slow down. Sure, I’ve had a few blisters, and my legs have been burning, but that’s what I always do on a thru-hike. Oh wait, I’m not on a thru-hike. And for some reason I didn’t schedule myself any rest days; I always do that on a thru-hike. 20 mile days for 2 weeks, that’s not much, right? Well today the trail and my feet sat me down to tell me what’s what.

I only had 9 miles to make it into Fields, and I had breakfast on the brain, so of course I got there by 9:30 this morning. Then I rested until 4pm, that should be enough, right? Do another 8 miles? Well after the miles I sat down to find massive new blisters, one where it doesn’t even rub! What’s up with that?

Then, the hike out this afternoom was quite extraordinary. I walked by Borax Lake and hot springs. But not the kind you soak in. Think Yellowstone where it will melt your face off. But so beautiful in the evening light. Then I get to where the trail goes cross country towards Alvord Lake, and it appears to be water. Hmmm. Someone told me today that the area has had the most rain in ten years. It’s wet out there,  and on an alkali desert that is something I don’t want to walk through. 

So i get the message. I’ll slow down. I’m going to find someplace to hole up for a day or two and rest this body, then continue on. It is my job afterall! I can come back and do this section multiple times.

Oh,  and the highlight today? I had someone ask me if I was hiking the Oregon desert trail. ..and she just happened to be a blog reader of mine!  Jen is from Eugene and was out to do some birding, and had just read some of my posts…and just thought it might be me. I think the damp socks drying in the sun might have given me away. And she was wearing a Purple Rain skirt! Hiker, and cool chick. As she was leaving she walked over with a beer, Picky Bar, and Epic Bar. Score! First trail magic of the trip!

Whew. Time to turn in. What tomorrow brings I don’t know, but isn’t that the adventure?

It took me 13 hours to go 16 miles. That folks, are the Pueblo Mountains.

It will take everything you’ve got with the elevation gain, primarily cross country travel, some knarly bushwacking at times…but so worth it. It’s definitely a range you should spend days in, with minimal miles so you can savor the stunning beauty.

Denio canyon

Denio Canyon was very choked with willows and such,  but starting from the south I could see lots of traces of the old road, and if that wasn’t passible, would side hill on the talus until i could see a path on the road again. Once the drainage split it was impossible to stay near the water, but climbed the south west side and found a good animal trail. I’ll try and draw it out on a map when I get home.

The sage definitely took a toll on my legs. I had my tall gaiters on all day, but the little skin showing got thrashed from the miles and miles of bushwacking before I put on my long john bottoms for protection. Bring pants & gaiters!!!

Once I reached Cairn #20 (this is a route developed by the original desert trail…in the 70s I think) and they put up a series of cairns in lieu of trail), I could tell this section was much more traveled….there was almost a trail at times.

Brilliant!

I could write more, but I’m exhausted. I’ll head into Fields tomorrow and try to take most of the day off. Feeling a little beat up.

I slept so hard last night, and my legs had stopped the buzzing ache from the night before. They were getting stronger!

This morning was a bit of road walking to meet up with no name creek where I then followed it cross country for a few miles. I soon discover what looked like a trail going in the path of least resistance from one side of the creek to the other. Those cows. I was thankful for them this morning as their path made for easy walking. Then it was some uphill cross country to Windy Point where I took a long break.

Just follow the creek!

Next up was a long hot descent to the Denio valley. The next 15+ miles I would walk across the flat. The afternoon was hot. The sun on the light colored sandy road reflected back up at me, and even though I was using my sun umbrella, I felt like I was getting cooked.

It felt like a million miles to the south end of the valley

I keep switching out my footwear from the Oboz Lunas to my chacos. My feet arn’t perfect in either until they toughen up more, but I think the variety helps.

I hobbled into Denio (just on the border of Nevada) to see what was there and try and get some good water. The small town was silent. It was Memorial Day, so even if there had been a store or something it probably would have been closed. I sat in front of the library and used their outdoor faucet. I couldn’t even find a plug to charge my electronics. There are simply no services in Denio. There is another town, Denio Junction, another 4ish miles south, but I didn’t want to go that far. The fact that there were no cars didn’t even tempt me to hitch.

I walked back out of town and cut over to Denio Canyon. I’m camped just inside the narrow walls. It’s already brushy. We’ll see what tomorrow brings!