Day 3 – 4/25/13 – 24.8mi (57.9)

We got an early start to try to beat the heat today. After a couple hours we arrived at our first non-cached water source: a cow pond. I’d read lots about the less than ideal water sources on the CDT, but nothing really prepares you for the reality of squatting in cow shit while reaching out to scoop up murky sludge that instantly clogs your mesh prefilter while a bull grunts angrily at you from across the pond.

Thankfully, there was water at a cache stocked by Sam 5 miles down the trail and none of us had to actually drink the cow poo water.  We took only a short lunch break at the cache partially because there was no shade and partially because we wanted to reach our next water source: a bear box along highway 113 where we cached 2 gallons of water per person on our Monday errands with Steven.

Needless to say, it was a long day for us, only 3 days into our hike. The trail itself was pretty easy walking, but our bodies are just not yet in shape. We did find some shade mid afternoon by a water tank (there was water in a tire next to it that looked about 100 times better than the morning pond: the water was clear enough we could actually see down to the bottom where discrete piles of cow dung lay), and we took an hour long rest there.

The wind has been strong all day, both a blessing and a curse. The wind is so strong, we cooked our dinners inside the bear box at the highway 113 cache, where we are camped once again with Aaron. This is our last cache, so we will have to make do with whatever water is available from here on out.

The Daily Ninjups Report
I was told they were performed first thing this morning while Ninja was still in her tent. Liz noted skeptism on the quantity actually performed based on the amount of headlight bobbing she saw from her tent.