During my stay in Sacramento I was so excited that I tried to cram a thousand things into my short schedule. As a result my sleep schedule suffered. That, combined with my regret at heading back onto the trail alone, made me feel like sleeping the morning away. Knowing it would be good for my physical and mental state, I allowed myself to stay in my sleeping bag until about 7:30. Besides, I need to keep my daily miles down this week, and a late start would help.
Once I got on the trail, late start or no, the miles began melting away. The landscape was all gently rolling hills with distant views of meadows and lakes (pictured). I kept myself occupied with the same old suite of thoughts, which were somewhat less stale thanks to my time off the trail. As the day wore on my homesickness eased a bit. This is fairly normal, as it took about 2 or 3 days to get readjusted last time.
There isn't much to report for today, except that these trails are built for long miles. The gentle grades of dirt and duff - from pines and white fir - make walking easy. The trail stays on ridge tops, occasionally dipping into sun dappled forests to cross crystalline streams. Even with a conservative pace and a late start I knocked out 29.5 miles, and was still in camp by 6:30. I plan to get another full night of sleep, and will sleep in tomorrow morning if needed. That should just about get my body caught up.
I did pass Jackson Meadow Reservoir, which has an interesting history. It started as English Dam in the 1850s. Water was diverted to hydraulic gold mining operations. Eventually the dam was expanded, but it broke in the late 1800s. Six people died, and the damage was extensive. This one event provided much of the impetus to eliminate hydraulic mining. So... there you go, I learned something today.
