Day 4: Stupid Fires

Brrrr Brrrr Brrrr. When I woke up it was freezing. Like literally my unicycle had frost all over it. Plus my tent and most my gear was soaking wet due to dew. I forced myself out of bed.

I had to put every warm clothing I had with on..wool hat, gloves, rain pants and jacket...I was still cold. But the sun was coming out and slowly warming up. As I ate oatmeal, which warmed up my hands, a hummingbird flew right near my face and just sat there looking at me for a few moments. Reminded me of my grandpa and was very surreal.

Started the day off with an uphill climb followed by some nice downhill to Kenosha Pass where they had toilets. Timed that right and I haven't had to do a #2 in the woods yet. Yay!

A few months ago I actually rode this next segment of the trail to get a feel for it. Only rode 7 miles into it before turning around as it started snowing. Today was a hot and sunny day. It was nice knowing what to expect and the views were just as stunning as last time.

Made it to the river where I turned around last time. Today I took a nice long lunch break and cooked up some enchiladas. I had to prepare myself for a big climb ahead. My first time on the trip that I would be above the tree line...certainly not my last.

As usual the climb seemed to take forever but I made it to the top. I was a bit concerned about a thunderstorm while I was up there but the weather gods were on my side.

From here it was 7 miles of pure downhill heaven. I got in the zone and was having a blast. Made it down in no time and decided to keep going another 2 miles so I would have less to do tomorrow.

Found a nice campsite at mile 90.9 next to a stream that already had firewood. Perfect...so I thought. I tried making a fire for over half an hour. I used up most of my fuel in my lighter and all of my paper. Nothing. Just smoke in my face. I was annoyed and pissed.

So I shouldn't have done this but I decided to use my Jetboil stove to make a fire. It worked and I got a fire going but I melted some of the plastic on it and now it won't fit inside itself. Stupid idea Jamey. Worst part is I didn't even enjoy the fire. By the time it was going it was already close to dark and I had to fill up my water, set up tent, make dinner and hang food. Probably spent 5 minutes total by the fire. What a waste. Goodnight.