Arizona Snow

As the sun rose, our eyes slowly opened, and our second day began, albeit slowly.

Since I wasn't able to make it to the water source, we had to melt snow for our food and drinking water.

We're trying to use as little fuel as possible, so have been boiling water by fire whenever possible -- mmm smoky water.

The hiking began, and I was excited for quite a bit of downhill with that behemoth pack of mine. However, it quickly changed tune when we were greeted by lots of snow on the northern side of the slope we were trekking.

I was following Andys foot steps (of course, he was way ahead, as I move like molasses over difficult terrains -- and warm molasses over easier terrain) but due to my extra weight, even in his foot steps I would sink in another 3-8 inches.

Post-holing is not much fun on any day, and with a pack of my size, even less so.

I've been averaging about a mile an hour, sometimes two on dry descents. My pack is really starting to become more cumbersome as my muscles revolt and sore.

As the altitude decreased, the snow began to dissipate and we ended our evening at a couple small pools of water. Setup our tent and cooked some dinner, and now I lay as flat as possible to allow my back to recoup, unfortunately, not as much as I'm sure I'd like to.

What I realized is my base pack (with all my food from day one) was at 91lbs, but that didn't include water. The first day I only carried a little bit, but today I filled up a full 3 liters (about an additional 6.6 lbs). Nearly 100 lbs.

I really need my body to kick into over drive and get used to this pack, as we were hoping to be where we are now, but yesterday. Gotta increase the miles in order to make our goal.

And now, I rest.