In the guidebook this is described as a enjoyable shaded descent. Unfortunately for me, I was heading southbound, and the area had burned over recently, so I was laboring UPhill in sweltering sun. There was no breeze, and the profusion of green growth made for humid, still air. Pushing through the growth around the trail took another toll - after the trip I got massive rashes that took doubled-up medication to tame.		I was glad I still had water.
	The lovely yellow glow of activating Agua Mira! I've used agua mira for water treatment for years, and typically treat almost all sources. Definitely all water on THIS trip got treated.		I got into trouble on this day. I had abandoned my Platypus drinking tube to save weight, but without the constant sipping, did not drink enough water. I didn't urinate from 8 am to 5 pm. At one point I felt really tired and chilled, and I knew the signs of heat exhaustion from my previous personal experience. I found some shade, and even though it was the middle of the day, put my sleeping bag over me, and took a long nap. With the break at Hikertown, the grueling uphill and the bout with heat exhaustion, I only did 22 miles today. By 9:10 I was ready to lay down.
	Even though I didn't DRINK enough water, I carried enough water. The speeder belt, a brainchild of my buddy Read "Speeder" Miller, allowed me to carry the heaviest part of my load, the water, right around my hips. Read's original thought was that such a belt would allow the use of a very light pack for most situations along the PCT, then just adding the belt for the dry sections, rather than carrying a pack capable of the maximum water load for the entire trek.		From past experience, the edges of my hands take a beating from the sun. For this trek, I tried the Solumbra hand shields. They worked okay, but next time I'm planning on taking a pair of lightweight gloves and cutting large sections out, keeping the index finger and thumb whole, cutting the rest of them off, leaving just enough to hold the glove in place, cutting out the palm. The hand shields accomplished the goal of hand protection, I did not get any sunburn.
	When you're pretty sure it's not going to rain, you don't need much in the way of shelter. Since I've weathered rainy nights just huddled under a plastic sheet, I'm confident that this Wedge, made out of cuben fiber, would have served its purpose if necessary.		It was a treat to nap in the afternoon when shade presented itself. I'm under a large oak tree on a soft bed of leaves, and the ants aren't too bad. Elevating the feet slightly helps them recuperate. Having my sleeping pad on the back of the pack means it's easy to whip out for a snooze.
	When traveling this light, even with all your gear strewn around, it's not that big a pile...		The second day in the heat took a lot out of me, and I didn't start until 4:45 am the third morning. I missed a trail junction that wasn't clear heading south, and did a couple of extra miles on dirt fire roads before figuring out my error and backtracking. I had been hoping to get in early enough today to take Donna and Jeff Saufley out to dinner before heading home. With my low mileage the second day, this wasn't looking feasible. When I crossed Elizabeth Canyon Road at 3:20 pm, with 17 miles done, I decided to pack it in for this trip. I walked into Lake Hughes, and hitched a ride back to the Saufleys. It worked out, because Andy Skurka had rolled in the day before, and taken a zero day to let his feet heal, so we got to enjoy dinner in town with him!

So what did I learn? Well, I learned that without additional strategy, I don't have the discipline to drink enough water from a bottle in super hot conditions. I think I would not have had the issue with heat exhaustion if I had been sipping from a drinking tube, but it's hard to know for sure. I didn't miss the hot food, since it was so hot anyway. Generally the food worked okay. I was on track to finish with some extra, so the quantity was acceptable. I find it hard to eat sometimes when hot and exerting myself.

I haven't been sub-3 since, but it did make it easier to get to sub-4 during a 10-day trip later in the year on the Oregon PCT. What pushing the envelope teaches me is how little I really need to be comfortable on the trail. For instance, I found that having a small wad of clothing to put under the small of my back is, for me, a very effective way to sleep comfortably, instead of carrying a huge air mattress.

One of the huge "Ah-ha's" of this trip was Emergen-C, the flavored fizzy drink mix. I took the "Joint Health" formula with me, that contains Glucosamine and Chondroitin in addition to the 1000 mg of Vitamin C. Doing high mileage on a body that gets no exercise when not on the trail has always made me stiff. Even after a 10-min stop, my joints stiffen up. At night, I toss and turn because of soreness, and am usually hobbling in the morning until the kinks get worked out. I took about 3 Emergen-C packets a day, and even with the high mileage of the first day and the dehydration of the second day, I had NO stiffness during this trip, night or day. It was unbelievable to me, and I assure you I will not go on a trip again without Emergen-C Joint Health formula in my pack. You can get them at Whole Foods Markets or other health food and vitamin/nutrition stores.

Please lighten your load responsibly. Never take less gear than required for your particular trip, experience level, and travel group. These are trained professionals on a closed course - don't try this at home. Well, okay, try stuff LIKE this at home, just do it in small increments as you gain experience... you know what we mean.