The four of us set out on the trail at 2:50 pm. Jen and Norm needed to put their legs up for a bit after the long bike ride. Jen’s legs are swelling (no, not just her feet), and Norm is not a racer - he is super-fit and doing great, but has never done this crazy non-stop stuff before. It is great seeing how well the two of them are working together on this trip. Jen appreciates his support, and Jen’s mom Bonnie is also much relieved that Norm is out there with her.<br />
<br />
The first 12 k on the trail were through rainforest - a few long ladders to go up and then down at the beginning, and after that mostly fairly fast trail. We power-walked most of the first hour, then Jen led us into a shuffle-run for much of the second hour. <br />
<br />
The trail, notorious for its mud, was about as good as it could be - it’s barely rained all summer, and there were only a few small mud patches that we could mostly spring around the edges of. <br />
<br />
And the day was simply glorious - sunshine and warm and balmy, but not hot, with a light breeze. At 12k, around 5:15 pm, we reached Michigan Creek, descending down to the beach for the first time. (It was interesting, later, to check the SPOT data - there are no points registered for that whole section while we were under forest cover - and then abruptly a point came in at 5:18 pm, just as we emerged). <br />
<br />
Jen lay down flat on her back on the pebbles while Norm, Don and I refueled. Her Achilles tendon is inflamed, her knees are swollen from some 500 k biking rough logging roads, and she was feeling nauseous and not wanting to eat. Three minutes later she was repacking her backpack, and we were off, stepping over boulders to cross the creek, then working our way down the coast. We were exactly on high tide, so we were forced up to the top of the beach, hopping from boulder to boulder, and walking along huge driftwood logs where possible, with the waves splashing us on our right sides.
SleepMonsters
